Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Recurrent <i>Clostridioides difficile</i> Infections in a Cystic Fibrosis Child Previously Screen Positive, Inconclusive Diagnosis (CFSPID): A Case Report

<i>Clostridioides difficile</i> infection (CDI) is generally treated with vancomycin, metronidazole or fidaxomicin, although fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) represents a promising therapeutic option for antibiotic-resistant recurrent <i>C. difficile</i> infections (rCD...

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Main Authors: Riccardo Marsiglia, Stefania Pane, Federica Del Chierico, Alessandra Russo, Pamela Vernocchi, Lorenza Romani, Sabrina Cardile, Antonella Diamanti, Luisa Galli, Agnese Tamborino, Vito Terlizzi, Paola De Angelis, Giulia Angelino, Lorenza Putignani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Microorganisms
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/10/2059
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Summary:<i>Clostridioides difficile</i> infection (CDI) is generally treated with vancomycin, metronidazole or fidaxomicin, although fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) represents a promising therapeutic option for antibiotic-resistant recurrent <i>C. difficile</i> infections (rCDIs) in adults. In pediatric cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, CDIs are generally asymptomatic and respond to treatment. Here, we present the case of an 8-year-old female, initially diagnosed as “CFTR-related metabolic syndrome/cystic fibrosis screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis” (CMRS/CFSPID), who then progressed to CF at 12 months. In the absence of CF-related symptoms, she presented multiple and disabling episodes of bloody diarrhoea with positive tests for <i>C. difficile</i> antigen and A/B toxin. After conventional treatments failed and several CDI relapses, FMT was proposed. Donor screening and GM donor–receiver matching identified her mother as a donor. Metataxonomy and targeted metabolomics provided, through a pre- and post-FMT time course, gut microbiota (GM) profiling to assess GM engraftment. At first, the GM map revealed severe dysbiosis, with a prevalence of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria (i.e., <i>Klebsiella</i> spp., <i>Escherichia coli</i>), a reduction in Firmicutes, a GM nearly entirely composed of Enterococcaceae (i.e., <i>Enterococcus</i>) and an almost complete depletion of Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria, mostly represented by <i>Veillonella dispar</i>. Post FMT, an increment in <i>Bifidobacterium</i> spp. and <i>Collinsella</i> spp. with a decrease in <i>V. dispar</i> restored intestinal eubiosis. Consistently, four weeks after FMT treatment, the child’s gut symptoms cleared, without CDI recurrence.
ISSN:2076-2607