Fecal microbiota transplantation for induction of remission, maintenance and rescue in patients with corticosteroid-dependent ulcerative colitis: a long-term follow-up real-world cohort study

To study role of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in induction, maintenance, and rescue in patients with corticosteroid-dependent ulcerative colitis (CDUC). Patients with active CDUC received 3 fortnightly sessions of colonoscopic induction FMT (iFMT) in addition to standard of care. In patients who achieved clinical remission (CR) or response, prednisolone was tapered from week 4 and azathioprine from week 12. Responders were advised maintenance FMT (mFMT) every 6 months. Those with relapse were offered rescue FMT (rFMT), and low dose prednisolone was added if there was no improvement in 2 weeks. All 27 patients enrolled completed iFMT and were followed up for 39 months (range, 9-71 months). The mean Mayo score decreased from 6.4±2.5 at baseline to 2.6±3.7 at week 4, 2.6±3.4 at week 12, and 2.8±3.8 at week 24 (P