The role of faecal microbiota transplantation in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as a potent form of therapeutic microbial manipulation. There is much interest in exploring its potential in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) where disturbances in the gastrointestinal microbiota play a crucial role in disease pathogenesis. RECENT FINDINGS: There are 4 randomized controlled trials of FMT as induction therapy in ulcerative colitis, with meta-analyses suggesting significant benefit over placebo. Allied microbial studies have identified potential microbial and metabolic predictors of therapeutic efficacy and highlighted the importance of optimizing future donor and patient selection. Recent literature has evaluated the use of complementary microbial manipulation through pre-antibiotics to improve treatment efficacy. Studies have also assessed the durability of FMT response and its use in maintenance therapy of UC. While data on FMT are more limited in Crohn’s disease and pouchitis, cohort and pilot randomized controlled data a now also emerging in these areas.