OK, so just for the record I'm not actually saying that NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) actually provide faecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) as some sort of in-house service; that's not their job. But as the BBC reported (see here) they have published guidance on the use of FMT specifically with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in mind (see here for the full guidance). And that guidance is, as was expected, positive on the use of FMTs where and when other treatments have failed.
I'm not surprised that they have come down on the side of FMTs for recurrent C.diff infection in light of the data being presented, some of which has been previously covered on this blog. As I've mentioned before, however you perceive this type of intervention and the thought of receiving the collected bacteria from someone else's deepest, darkest recesses, FMT does seem to reach the parts that other treatments fail to do for some people.
I suppose the next question is: are there other conditions or other instances where FMT might prove to be useful? (hint: possibly... but with more research required).
