Watch this short Mayo Clinic video on fecal microbiota transplantation.
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is used to treat recurrent Clostridium difficile, also called C. diff. Because the procedure involves the complete restoration of the entire fecal microbiota, it is replacing other terms such as fecal transfusion, stool transplant, fecal transplant, and bacteriotherapy.
More Information
According to the Fecal Transplant Foundation, fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a procedure in which fecal matter, or stool, is collected from a tested donor, mixed with a saline or other solution, strained, and placed in a patient, by colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or enema.
FMT is used to replace good bacteria that have been killed or suppressed, usually by the use of antibiotics, causing bad bacteria, specifically Clostridium difficile, or C. diff., to over-populate the colon. This infection causes a condition called C. diff. colitis, resulting in often debilitating, sometimes fatal diarrhea.
Take Away
Fecal microbiota transplant has replaced other terms to describe this now standard procedure and it has 90% success rate. It is time to add it to your medical vocabulary and to add FMT to your abbreviation list if you have not already done so.
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