3rd c diff relapse

Has any one done a stool transplant?  3 relapses of c diff.  Taken every imaginable combo of drugs & pro-biotics.  What other options remain?

[Ratnakar Kini, MD]

Hi,
I dont understand what you mean by "STOOL TRANSPLANT".
The 3rd relapse of C-diff  can be  treated with
1. Tapering dose of vancomycin plus cholestyramine
2.Vancomycin and rifampicin
3. IV immunoglobin

[Pennies163]

I believe you are referring to a fecal transplant - a procedure not FDA approved. I asked about this in a Crohn's and Colitis forum a few days ago with several expert physicians. Their response is that the extreme doses of antibiotics to completely clear out all bacteria in the GI tract is extremely dangerous - possibly deadly. Much research also suggests that the bacteria in our GI has developed over our lifetime and removing it could cause more auto-immune issues than it fixes. This is not a safe option and their is no clinical study to back it up - only a very small study of 6 patients.