Improving Risk-Benefit in Faecal Transplantation through Microbiome Screening

Lito E Papanicolas; David L Gordon; Steve L Wesselingh; Geraint B Rogers

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2019.12.009

Improving Risk-Benefit in Faecal Transplantation through Microbiome Screening

Trends Microbiol. 2020 May;28(5):331-339. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2019.12.009. Epub 2020 Jan 15.

Authors

Lito E Papanicolas¹, David L Gordon², Steve L Wesselingh³, Geraint B Rogers⁴

Affiliations

¹ Microbiome and Host Health Programme, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; The SAHMRI Microbiome Research Laboratory, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
² Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
³ SAHMRI, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁴ Microbiome and Host Health Programme, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; The SAHMRI Microbiome Research Laboratory, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31952909
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2019.12.009

Abstract

Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of a growing number of conditions, and its clinical use continues to rise. However, recent cases of antibiotic-resistant pathogen transmission through FMT, resulting in at least one case of fatal sepsis, highlight the need to reevaluate current donor screening practices. Commensal gut microbes profoundly influence infection risk but are not routinely assessed in donor stool. Extending the assessment of donor material beyond pathogen populations to include the composition and structure of the wider faecal microbiota has the potential to reduce infectious complications in FMT recipients.

Keywords: faecal microbiota transplantation; infection; microbiome; sepsis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Clostridioides difficile / pathogenicity
Clostridium Infections / therapy*
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation / methods*
Feces / microbiology
Gastrointestinal Microbiome / physiology*
Humans
Mass Screening
Symbiosis / physiology