The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the UK’s health regulator, gave the green light on Wednesday to medical practitioners to use a treatment process that involves poo transplant to treat patients suffering from superbugs. The doctors will use faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) to treat patients who have been treated unsuccessfully for two or more Clostridium difficile (C diff) infections. It may sound a little dirty at first.
The gut bacteria of a sick and unhealthy patient will be restored using the gut bacteria and other microorganisms from a healthy donor’s poo in the treatment, which has been dubbed revolutionary. Doctors describe C diff as a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea and frequently affects people over the age of 65 who have weakened immune systems.
The situation can be treated easily using antibiotics. However, in some cases, the bacteria develops a high level of resistance to the antibiotic, earning the moniker ‘superbug’. It is important to note that superbugs are bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasite strains that are resistant to most antibiotics.
Nice claims that gut bacteria from a healthy donor’s poop can be delivered to the patient via three different methods. To begin, a tube is inserted directly into the stomach through the nose. Second, it can be inserted directly into the colon via a tube. Finally, there is a simple pill that can be swallowed.
‘Use of this treatment will also help reduce reliance on antibiotics, lowering the likelihood of antimicrobial resistance, which supports Nice’s guidance on good antimicrobial stewardship’. The Guardian cited Mark Chapman, Nice’s interim director of medical technology. After reviewing evidence from five trials involving over 274 adults, the decision to proceed with the FMT process was made. According to the research, the treatment can cure up to 94% of infections.
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