Evidence mapPaperPMID 40978956Full record

ReviewCureus2025

Efficacy of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) Versus Standard Antibiotic Therapy in Recurrent Clostridioides difficile (CDI/rCDI) Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Rubela Ray, Sarah A Hack, Avreen Kaur Vij, Khadijat Ishola Gbenla, Suman Khatri, Dinesh Aravind Rongali, Ayesha Khalid, Ayesha Anjum, Ruhab S Fancy, Muhammad Sohail S Mirza

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Rubela RayInternal Medicine, Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital, Bankura, IND.
Sarah A HackGeneral Medicine, St George's University, St George's, GRD.
Avreen Kaur VijInternal Medicine, Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar, IND.
Khadijat Ishola GbenlaInternal Medicine, University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts, GRD.
Suman KhatriMedicine and Surgery, TMSS Medical College, Bogura, BGD.
Dinesh Aravind RongaliRadiology, Rush University Medical Center, Illinois, USA.
Ayesha KhalidPediatrics, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, USA.
Ayesha AnjumInternal Medicine, Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore, PAK.
Ruhab S FancyInternal Medicine, United Medical and Dental College, Creek General Hospital, Karachi, PAK.
Muhammad Sohail S MirzaInternal Medicine, Shandong University School Of Medicine, Jinan, CHN.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Repeated Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) is a hard clinical problem because normal antibiotic treatment usually doesn't stop relapses. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has come up as another way to try to fix the gut's microbial balance. This review and study looked at how well FMT works and how safe it is compared to normal antibiotic treatment for rCDI. We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to December 2023 to find trials and studies. We used a model to calculate risk ratios, and we also looked at subgroups based on how FMT was given and the patient's age. After checking fifteen studies with 1,452 patients, we found that FMT worked better than antibiotics [relative risk (RR) = 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62-2.11, p < 0.001], with recurrence rates of 16% versus 42%. Subgroup checks showed that FMT worked well no matter how it was given, whether by colonoscopy, tube, or capsules. Side effects were usually small and about the same for both FMT and antibiotics. In conclusion, FMT is safer and does a better job than normal antibiotics for rCDI and should be thought of as the main treatment after the first time the infection comes back.

Indexed as

antibiotic therapyfecal microbiota transplantation (fmt)meta-analysisrecurrent clostridioides difficile infection (rcdi)treatment efficacy

Identifiers

PMID40978956
PMCPMC12449039

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.