Benefits and risks

Information for the public

When NICE looked at the evidence, it decided that the procedure works well and is safe enough to be used in the NHS. The 7 studies that NICE looked at involved a total of 558 patients.

Generally, they showed the following benefits:

Nearly all patients were cured (although a few people had to have 2 transplants).
In 1 study, the infection came back in around 1 in 20 patients within 5 weeks, compared with over half of the patients who had antibiotics. In another study, the infection came back in around 1 in 50 patients between 29 days and 4 years after having a faecal microbiota transplant.
It didn't make much difference if the transplant was from someone related to the patient or not, or if the transplant had been frozen or not.

The studies showed that the following problems were seen in some patients having faecal microbiota transplant:

burping, cramps, tummy pain and diarrhoea on the day of the transplant
infections of the stomach, bowel and the tissue lining the inside of the abdomen (tummy) within 2 days of having the procedure.

If you want to know more about the studies see the guidance. Ask your health professional to explain anything you don't understand.