Date of Award

5-2020

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

Department

Physician Assistant Studies

First Advisor

Jay Metzger

Keywords

Clostridium difficile, Clostridioides difficile, treatment, fecal donor screening, fecal microbiota transplantation, FMT, safety, efficacy, recurrent C. difficile, guidelines for screening and treatment, epidemiology, transmission of CDI, and comparison studies

Abstract

Research was performed to discuss the epidemiology and current guidelines of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), recurrent C. difficile infection (rCDI), the different modalities of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), the donor screening process, as well as the safety and efficacy of treatment. Utilizing Clinical Key, NCBI database, Dynamed Plus, Cochrane Review, and the websites for the CDC and FDA, a literature review was produced, encompassing recent research and human studies related to CDI. Recent studies were preferred, however since C. difficile has sparsely changed, older data was utilized with updates applied accordingly. Articles excluded were due to not meeting the themes within the literature review. Due to the ease of use, oral antibiotics are the proven mainstay for initial infection with C. difficile; while FMT has been shown to reduce recurrence after multiple infections. The study methods may vary; however, similar results exist with efficacy and safety for FMT in regards to oral, fresh versus frozen stool, or rectal administration of therapy. With proper screening, FMT is relatively safe and efficacious. The need for long-term studies on the safety of FMT has been established and are underway.

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