Increased Faecalibacterium abundance is associated with clinical improvement in patients receiving rifaximin treatment.

Compositional and functional alterations of the gut microbiota are involved in the pathogenesis of several gastrointestinal diseases. Rifaximin is often used to induce disease remission due to its eubiotic effects on the gut microbiota. To investigate the correlation between changes in the gut microbiota composition and symptoms improvement in patients who present a clinical response to rifaximin treatment. Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and diverticular disease (DD) undergoing rifaximin treatment for clinical indication were enrolled in the study. Rifaximin was administered at the dose of 1,200 mg/day for 10 days. Faecal samples were collected at baseline and at the end of treatment; clinical improvement was assessed by Mayo score for UC, CD Activity Index (CDAI) for CD, IBS severity scoring system (IBS-SSS) for IBS and global symptomatic score (GSS) for DD. Twenty-five patients were included in the analysis and a clinical improvement was recorded for 10/25 (40%) of them. Microbial alpha diversity showed a slight increase in clinical responders (P=0.271), while it decreased in patients who did not improved (P=0.05). A significant post-treatment increase in Faecalibacterium abundance was observed in patients with a positive response (log2FC 1.959, P=0.042). Roseburia abundance decreased in both groups, whereas Ruminococcus decreased only in patients who clinically improved. Clinical improvement consequent to rifaximin treatment is associated with an increase in Faecalibacterium abundance. Achieving a positive shift in the gut microbiota composition seems a key event to obtain a clinical benefit from treatment.

Acute uncomplicated diverticulitis: key points for early management. A single-centre retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Acute uncomplicated diverticulitis is an important clinical condition usually managed in clinical practice with antibiotic therapies and hospitalization in ward. In this setting, recent papers and guidelines suggest to limit the use of antibiotics in selected cases and encourage an early discharge in low-risk patients. The purpose of this retrospective study is to identify serological inflammatory markers and CT findings of acute uncomplicated diverticulitis (AUD) at the onset of the disease and the correlation with the need for in-patient or out-patient management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: It was used a database drawn from the collection of the patients admitted to our Emergency Room from January 2016 to 2019 and undergoing urgent abdominal CT-scan for suspicious of acute diverticulitis. For each patient we considered biochemical and radiological parameters at the onset of the disease and if patients were managed as in-patients (hospitalization in ward) or as out-patient (early discharged or after observation in Short Stay Unit). RESULTS: Among patients with early diagnosis of AUD, 108 (65%) were hospitalized in ward with mean time of in-stay of 6.94 days, while only 58 (35%) patients with same diagnosis were managed as out-patient and early discharged from emergency room or after observation in short stay unit with a mean time of in-stay significantly shorter (3.39 days, p-value 0.0007). Higher levels of C reactive protein and the length of colon involved considered as percentage (%) in comparison with the entire colon were significantly related to the need for hospitalization (p-value 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Biochemical parameters and a more advanced radiological evaluation, as the length (%) of colon involved, could allow a stratification of patients with diagnosis of AUD at the admission and help physicians in the early management.

Predictors of failure after single faecal microbiota transplantation in patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection: results from a 3-year, single-centre cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Although a single faecal infusion is usually sufficient to eradicate CDI, a considerable number of patients need multiple infusions to be cured. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of failure after single faecal infusion in patients with recurrent CDI. METHODS: We included patients with recurrent CDI prospectively treated with FMT by colonoscopy. By means of univariate and multivariate analysis, variables including female gender, age, number of CDI recurrences, severity of CDI, hospitalization, inadequate bowel preparation, unrelated donor, and use of frozen faeces, were assessed to predict failure after single faecal infusion. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients (39 women; mean age 74 years) were included. Of them, 44 (69%) were cured by a single faecal infusion, whereas 20 (31%) needed repeat infusions. Overall, FMT cured 62 of 64 (97%) patients. In the subgroup of patients with severe CDI, only eight of 26 (30%) were cured with a single infusion. At multivariate analysis, severe CDI (OR 24.66; 95% CI 4.44-242.08; p 0.001) and inadequate bowel preparation (OR 11.53; 95% CI 1.71-115.51; p 0.019) were found to be independent predictors of failure after single faecal infusion. CONCLUSIONS: Severe CDI and inadequate bowel preparation appear to be independent predictors of failure after single faecal infusion in patients treated with FMT by colonoscopy for recurrent CDI. Our results may help to optimize protocols and outcomes of FMT in patients with recurrent CDI.

Efficacy and Mechanisms of Action of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Ulcerative Colitis: Pitfalls and Promises From a First Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the results of a chronic inflammatory process deriving from disequilibrium between self-microbiota composition and immune response. METHODS: New evidence, coming from Clostridium difficile infection, clearly showed that active and powerful modulation of microbiota composition by fecal microbiota composition (FMT) is safe, easy to perform, and efficacious, opening new frontiers in gastrointestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. FMT has been proposed also for IBD as well as other non-gastrointestinal conditions related to intestinal microbiota dysfunctions, with good preliminary data. RESULTS: In this setting, ulcerative colitis (UC) represents one of the most robust potential indications for FMT after C difficile colitis. CONCLUSIONS: In the present review, we focus on FMT and its application on ulcerative colitis, clarifying mechanisms of actions and efficacy data, trough completion of a meta-analysis on available randomized, controlled trial data in UC. Because microbiota is so crucially involved in this topic, a short review of microbial alterations in UC will also be performed.

Nickel free-diet enhances the Helicobacter pylori eradication rate: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The Helicobacter pylori eradication rate with standard triple therapy is very low. H. pylori is known to require the nickel-containing metalloenzymes urease and NiFe-hydrogenase to survive at the low pH environment in the stomach. AIM: To compare the H. pylori eradication rate of a nickel free-diet associated with standard triple therapy and standard triple therapy alone as the first-line regimen. METHODS: Fifty-two sex- and age-matched patients at the first diagnosis of H. pylori infection were randomized 1:1 into two different therapeutic schemes: (1) standard LCA (26 patients): lansoprazole 15 mg bid, clarithromycin 500 mg bid and amoxicillin 1,000 mg bid for 7 days with a common diet; (2) standard LCA plus a nickel free-diet (NFD-LCA) (26 patients). Patients followed 30 days of a nickel-free diet plus a week of lansoprazole 15 mg bid, clarithromycin 500 mg bid and amoxicillin 1,000 mg bid starting from day 15 of the diet. RESULTS: All patients completed the study. A significantly higher eradication rate was observed in the NFD-LCA group (22/26) versus LCA group (12/26) (p < 0.01). Only a few patients (9 of 52) reported the occurrence of mild therapy-related side effects, without any significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of a nickel-free diet to standard triple therapy significantly increases the H. pylori eradication rate. The reduction of H. pylori urease activity due to the nickel-free diet could expose the bacterium to gastric acid and increase H. pylori's susceptibility to amoxicillin. Further studies are necessary to confirm this preliminary result.