TY - JOUR T1 - Meeting update: faecal microbiota transplantation––bench, bedside, courtroom? JF - Frontline Gastroenterology JO - Frontline Gastroenterol SP - 45 LP - 48 DO - 10.1136/flgastro-2016-100752 VL - 9 IS - 1 AU - Nik Sheng Ding AU - Benjamin H Mullish AU - John McLaughlin AU - Ailsa Hart AU - Julian R Marchesi Y1 - 2018/01/01 UR - http://fg.bmj.com/content/9/1/45.abstract N2 - A group of stakeholders met, under the aegis of the British Society of Gastroenterology, to discuss the current landscape of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) within the UK and beyond. The meeting covered a wide range of topics, ranging from the practical aspects of establishing an FMT service and regulatory issues relating to its delivery, to research implications and likely future directions.Case report and case series data supportive of the efficacy of FMT as treatment for recurrent/refractory Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) have slowly accumulated over many decades, but randomised trial data supporting its use for this indication were lacking until as recently as 2013.1 There are now a growing number of randomised studies/trials that have consistently demonstrated the much greater efficacy of FMT than that of vancomycin in inducing remission from recurrent/refractory CDI; success from a single FMT is quoted at ≥80%, and for two FMTs as ≥90%.1 FMT appears to be similarly as efficacious for this indication regardless of whether the transplant is delivered via the upper gastrointestinal (GI)1 or lower GI tract.2 ,3 Based on this clinical evidence (along with data supporting the cost effectiveness of FMT in comparison with other treatment strategies),4 FMT has now been accepted as an appropriate treatment option for recurrent/refractory CDI by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence,5 Public Health England6 and European guidelines.7 There is increasing recognition that a distinctive pattern of alteration of the structure of the gut microbiota (or ‘dysbiosis’) appears to characterise a number of conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome. Although it remains largely unclear as to whether these microbiota changes are a cause of these conditions, consequence or incidental, there is much interest as to whether manipulation of the gut microbiota might be a … ER -