Background and aims: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has gained interest as a novel
treatment option for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). While publications describing FMT as
therapy for IBD have more than doubled since 2012, research that investigates FMT treatment
efficacy has been scarce. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the
efficacy of FMT as treatment for patients with IBD.
Methods: A systematic literature search was performed through May 2014. Inclusion criteria
required FMT as the primary therapeutic agent. Clinical remission (CR) and/or mucosal healing
were defined as primary outcomes. Studies were excluded if they did not report clinical
outcomes or included patients with infections.
Results: Eighteen studies (9 cohort studies, 8 case studies and 1 randomized controlled trial)
were included. 122 patients were described (79 ulcerative colitis (UC); 39 Crohn's disease (CD); 4
IBD unclassified). Overall, 45% (54/119) of patients achieved CR during follow-up. Among the
cohort studies, the pooled proportion of patients that achieved CR was 36.2% (95% CI 17.4%–
60.4%), with a moderate risk of heterogeneity (Cochran's Q, P = 0.011; I
2
= 37%). Subgroup
analyses demonstrated a pooled estimate of clinical remission of 22% (95% CI 10.4%–40.8%) for
UC (P = 0.37; I
2
= 0%) and 60.5% (95% CI 28.4%–85.6%) for CD (P = 0.05; I
2
= 37%). Six studies
performed microbiota analysis.