Background: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a potential treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an area of active current research, having been stimulated by the remarkable efficacy of FMT in treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated colitis.
Sources of data: This review is based on data from numerous case series on FMT in IBD since 1989 and results of four RCTs in ulcerative colitis (UC); three fully published.
Areas of agreement: Early signals of short to medium-term efficacy of FMT for UC are promising.
Areas of controversy: Methodology, underlying mechanisms and questions regarding safety of FMT remain controversial.
Growing points: Many trials of FMT in adults and children are currently recruiting.
Areas timely for developing research: Future trials of FMT will likely revisit Crohn's disease and patients undergoing pouch surgery. Advances in microbial culture complementing genetic sequencing and investigations into the virome and mycobiome in IBD will be of great future interest.
Keywords: IBD; faecal microbiota transplantation; microbiome.
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