FMT Advances and the Case for Human Connection - Medscape

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Dr Kelly describes that two FDA-approved FMT products are now commonly used to prevent recurrent C difficile infection, but these products aren’t necessarily approved for acute fulminant CDI cases; clinicians and researchers are exploring how to treat very sick patients and how stool banking might help in the interim.

She and collaborators are running open-label FMT studies in people with Crohn’s disease to see if microbiome-directed therapy affects disease course; enrollment is slow because studies require stable background therapies and some patients cannot wait during flares.

The interview also highlights practical clinical issues: obesity is common in IBD, bariatric surgery may be considered despite higher Crohn’s complication risk, and genetic testing for monogenic causes of extreme early-onset obesity may be pursued. The piece emphasizes the human side of care and multidisciplinary decision-making.