About this trial
The goal of this observational study is to learn about the long-term effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) compared with antibiotic-only treatment in adults who were treated for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) at Umeå University Hospital between 2016 and 2024. The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Do patients treated with FMT maintain higher gut bacterial diversity up to 10 years after CDI compared with patients treated with antibiotics only? * Do donor gut bacteria introduced by FMT persist long-term in the recipient's gut? * Are there differences in gut metabolism, gut barrier function, and systemic inflammation between FMT-treated and antibiotic-only treated patients at long-term follow-up? * What are the long-term safety outcomes - including new diseases, hospitalizations, and mortality - in FMT-treated versus antibiotic-only treated patients?
Researchers will compare patients who received FMT to patients who received antibiotics only to see if FMT leads to lasting differences in gut microbiota, metabolism, immune markers, and clinical outcomes.
Participants will:
* Attend a single study visit at Umeå University Hospital * Provide samples of blood, stool, urine, and a nasal swab * Complete two quality-of-life questionnaires
Clinical data will be collected from medical records for all participants.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Adults aged 18 years or older
Symptomatic, microbiologically verified index CDI from February 1 2016 to December 31 2024
Having received CDI treatment at Umeå University Hospital (antibiotic-only or FMT)
Disqualifiers
Age below 18 years at follow-up
Index CDI diagnosis not meeting ESCMID case definition
Testing positive for another gastrointestinal pathogen (virus/bacteria) that is more plausible to explain the clinical picture at index CDI episode
Declines participation
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Not listed
Trial groups
Sponsors and collaborators
Umeå University
Lead sponsor
Region Västerbotten
Collaborator