Fecal microbiota transplant for treatment of diarrhea in adult hospitalized horses-111 cases (2013-2018).
Abstract: Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is increasingly administered as part of the treatment of colitis in horses, yet there is little data as to its effectiveness. Retrospective evaluation of the effects of FMT on discharge status, fecal consistency, length of hospitalization, and improvement in clinical signs in horses hospitalized for diarrhea. Retrospective case-control study. Medical records of adult horses (>1 year old) that received at least one transfaunation treatment (2013-2018) in two referral hospitals were identified through a medical records database search. Medical records of contemporary adult horses with diarrhea who did not receive FMT at the same study centers were used as controls. Control horses had statistically significant shorter hospitalization [7 (1-21)] as compared to the transfaunation group [12 (3-31)] ( p = 0.0006). There were no significant differences between groups in the number of days to the improvement of feces (p = 0.38), or in days to normalization of fecal consistency (p = 0.43), respiratory rate (p = 0.42), heart rate (p = 0.27), body temperature (p = 0.12), peripheral white blood cell count (p = 0.37), improvement in appetite (p = 0.81), or attitude (p = 0.06). There was also no significant difference in survival to discharge (transfaunation 28/37, 75.7%; control 56/74, 75.7%, p = 1.0). There were no significant advantages of performing FMTs in horses with diarrhea in this retrospective study. This highlights the need for prospective, randomized studies to evaluate the efficacy of FMT, as well as different formulations, in horses with colitis before this can become standard practice.
Publication Date: 2023-09-30 PubMed ID: 37842104PubMed Central: PMC10576572DOI: 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i9.9Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research article investigates the impact of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) for treating diarrhea in adult horses. However, the study found no significant benefits in terms of discharge status, fecal consistency, length of hospitalization, and improvement in clinical signs.
Background
- The research focuses on the treatment of colitis in horses using fecal microbiota transplant (FMT). Despite being commonly used, there are limited data about the effectiveness of this treatment method.
- The approach involved a retrospective evaluation of medical records from 2013 to 2018, comparing adult horses with diarrhea that received at least one FMT treatment with those who didn’t receive this treatment.
Findings
- The findings were not promising for the efficacy of FMT. Horses that received this treatment had a significantly longer hospital stay compared to the control group. There were no significant differences in the improvement of fecal consistency, or other clinical signs such as respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature, and peripheral white blood cell count.
- Moreover, there was no difference in survival to discharge rates between the control group and the group of horses that were treated with FMT. Both groups had a survival rate of 75.7%.
Conclusion
- The researchers concluded that the study’s results did not demonstrate any significant benefits of using FMT for treating diarrhea in adult horses.
- They highlighted the need for more prospective and randomized studies to evaluate the effectiveness, as well as different formulations, of FMT in treating colitis in horses more conclusively.
Cite This Article
APA
Quattrini C, Bozorgmanesh R, Egli P, Magdesian KG.
(2023).
Fecal microbiota transplant for treatment of diarrhea in adult hospitalized horses-111 cases (2013-2018).
Open Vet J, 13(9), 1135-1140.
https://doi.org/10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i9.9 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95650, USA.
- Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, KY 40511, USA.
- Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinics, Menlo Park, CA 94028, USA.
- Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, KY 40511, USA.
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95650, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Horses
- Animals
- Fecal Microbiota Transplantation / veterinary
- Retrospective Studies
- Case-Control Studies
- Prospective Studies
- Treatment Outcome
- Diarrhea / therapy
- Diarrhea / veterinary
- Colitis / therapy
- Colitis / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / therapy
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
References
This article includes 16 references
- Barletta J.F, Sclar D.A. Proton pump inhibitors increase the risk for hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection in critically ill patients.. Crit. Care 2014;18(1):714–717.
- Cammarota G, Ianiro G, Gasbarrini A. Fecal microbiota transplantation for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection a systematic review.. J. Clin. Gastroenterol. 2014;48(8):693–702.
- Costa M.C, Arroyo L.G, Allen-Vercoe E, Stämpfli H.R, Kim P.T, Sturgeon A, Weese S.J. Comparison of the fecal microbiota of healthy horses and horses with colitis by high throughput sequencing of the V3-V5 region of the 16s rRNA gene.. PLoS One 2012;7(7):e41484.
- Costa M.C, Stämpfli H.R, Arroyo L.G, Allen-Vercoe E, Gomes R.G, Weese J.S. Changes in the equine fecal microbiota associated with the use of systemic antimicrobial drugs.. BMC Vet. Res. 2015;11(1):11–19.
- Costa M, Di Pietro R, Bessegatto J.A, Fajardo Valente Pereira P, Stievani F.C, Gomes R.G, Lisbôa J.A.N, Weese J.S. Evaluation of changes in microbiota after fecal microbiota transplantation in 6 diarrheic horses.. Can. Vet. J. 2021;62(10):1123–1130.
- Dias D.P.M, Sousa S.S, Molezini F.A, Ferreira H.S.D, De Campos R. Efficacy of faecal microbiota transplantation for treating acute colitis in horses undergoing colic surgery.. Pesq. Vet. Bras. 2018;38(8):1564–1569.
- Feary D.J, Hassel D.M. 2006 Enteritis and colitis in horses.. Vet. Clin. North Am. 22(2):437–479.
- Kamada N, Chen G.Y, Inohara N, Núñez G. Control of pathogens and pathobionts by the gut microbiota.. Nat. Immunol. 2013;14(7):685–690.
- Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Uchida-Fujii E, Nukada T, Ueno T. Simultaneous daily fecal microbiota transplantation fails to prevent metronidazole-induced dysbiosis of equine gut microbiota.. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2022;114:104004.
- McKinney C.A, Oliveira B.C.M, Bedenice D, Paradis M, Mazan M, Sage S, Sanchez A, Widmer G. The fecal microbiota of healthy donor horses and geriatric recipients undergoing fecal microbial transplantation for the treatment of diarrhea.. PLoS One 2020;15(3):e0230148.
- McKinney C.A, Bedenice D, Pacheco A.P, Oliveira B.C.M, Paradis M, Mazan M, Widmer G. Assessment of clinical and microbiota responses to fecal microbial transplantation in adult horses with diarrhea.. PLoS One 2021;16(1):e0244381.
- Mullen K.R, Yasuda K, Divers T.J, Weese J.S. Equine faecal microbiota transplant: current knowledge, proposed guidelines and future directions.. Equine Vet. Educ. 2018;30(3):151–160.
- Pereira G.Q, Gomes L.A, Santos I.S, Alfieri A.F, Weese J.S, Costa M.C. Fecal microbiota transplantation in puppies with canine parvovirus infection.. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 2018;32(2):707.
- Smith B, Van Metre D, Pusterla N. Large animal internal medicine.. .
- Van Nood E, Vrieze A, Nieuwdorp M, Fuentes S, Zoetendal E.G, De Vos W.M, Visser C.E, Kuijper E.J, Bartelsman J.F.W.M, Tijseen J.G.P, Speelman P, Dijkgraaf M.G.W, Keller J.J. Duodenal infusion of donor feces for recurrent Clostridium difficile.. N. Engl. J. Med. 2013;368(5):407–415.
- Wilson B.C, Vatanen T, Cutfield W.S, O’Sullivan J.M. The super-donor phenomenon in fecal microbiota transplantation.. Front. Cell Infect. Microbiol. 2019;9(2).
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
