Question for Hospital Workers (not medical advice)

[Sapphire Silk]

Thanks for the info. Too bad they haven't yet finalized the vaccine for c diff, one of the worst things going around a hospital.

Well, if you get it, you can always ask for a stool transplant. It's very close to FDA approval

I'm serious folks. Stool transplants are on the verge of becoming the gold standard treatment of C diff.

[EricKei]

Ack. I haven't so much as set foot inside a hospital beyond the front "general area"/the pharmacy in over five years ~ tho I do need to get updated vacc's. The last time mine were updated were when I started college. In 1993 o_O

[Seshat]

I'm serious folks. Stool transplants are on the verge of becoming the gold standard treatment of C diff.

I'm looking forward to it being approved for IBS (assuming it continues to look good). Not for me - for family.

[Sapphire Silk]

I'm looking forward to it being approved for IBS (assuming it continues to look good). Not for me - for family.

I'm not so sure that will happen. The problem with C diff is you need to replace the normal flora of the bowel. It requires a stool sample from a donor that is carefully tested to make sure only the right flora are in there.

IBS isn't an issue with the flora of the bowel. It's an issue with spasmoticity of the bowel.

I can't see how the mechanism of action would work.

[EvilEmpryss]

So you're saying that to cure someone who is so full of shit that it's flowing in liquid form out their backside they need to have more shit packed in them? Someone else's shit?

I do not want to have to be the medical person whose CV now has "shit transplanter" as their most recent position. Talk about a shitty detail.

[wolfie]

I'm not so sure that will happen. The problem with C diff is you need to replace the normal flora of the bowel. It requires a stool sample from a donor that is carefully tested to make sure only the right flora are in there.

I've heard that there's an "artificial digestive system" being worked on to produce "standardized" feces with the right flora for the purposes of fecal transplants.

[Sapphire Silk]

So you're saying that to cure someone who is so full of shit that it's flowing in liquid form out their backside they need to have more shit packed in them? Someone else's shit?

I do not want to have to be the medical person whose CV now has "shit transplanter" as their most recent position. Talk about a shitty detail.

Hah. Hah. Yes, that's the gist of it.

I've heard that there's an "artificial digestive system" being worked on to produce "standardized" feces with the right flora for the purposes of fecal transplants.

Hadn't heard that. Be interesting to see how that could actually work . . . and sounds wasteful of food to me.

[wolfie]

Hadn't heard that. Be interesting to see how that could actually work . . . and sounds wasteful of food to me.

Read on. One benefit of this, as opposed to conventional fecal transplants, is that there is full control over the flora involved - no risk of unknown pathogens harbored by the "donor". Contrast that safety factor with a bit of wasted food and it looks like a no-brainer - remember that one theory about AIDS was that it entered the population through the culture medium for a hepatitis vaccine. At the time, hepatitis was a serious risk in the male homosexual community, who were therefore prime candidates for the vaccine. Oops!

The headers shown by Google hinted that it might be administered via capsules of dried matter, so it wouldn't be a case of each hospital needing its own artificial gut - this would cut down on the food input required.

[Sapphire Silk]

Read on. One benefit of this, as opposed to conventional fecal transplants, is that there is full control over the flora involved - no risk of unknown pathogens harbored by the "donor". Contrast that safety factor with a bit of wasted food and it looks like a no-brainer - remember that one theory about AIDS was that it entered the population through the culture medium for a hepatitis vaccine. At the time, hepatitis was a serious risk in the male homosexual community, who were therefore prime candidates for the vaccine. Oops!

The headers shown by Google hinted that it might be administered via capsules of dried matter, so it wouldn't be a case of each hospital needing its own artificial gut - this would cut down on the food input required.

Hmm. I'm skeptical. The author of the study is also talking about treating autism with this.

I did a bit more research. Aside from the fact FDA approval is a long way off, cost is also a major factor. Traditional stool transplants are just way too much cheaper. The stool to be donated is carefully screened for unwanted bacteria so complications from transplanting the wrong bug are very rare.

[minchazo]

Just in case anyone's wondering:

Some facilities allow you to select your donor for a Fecal Microbiota Transplant (so you could pick cousin Jim or sister Denise). I personally wouldn't sit well if I knew the donor.

Anyway, if your facility is preparing the sample, they use an ordinary home-blender to break it apart, then strain out the solids.

Or you can get a sample from a 'stool bank' (though I prefer more colorful adjectives), like these guys: http://www.openbiome.org/

[EvilEmpryss]

I personally wouldn't sit well if I knew the donor

Because you already have to deal with enough of their shit?

[Primer]

Thanks for the info. Too bad they haven't yet finalized the vaccine for c diff, one of the worst things going around a hospital.

My mom passed away in June, and the primary cause was listed as c-diff, followed by septic shock and then renal failure. So yeah, c-diff is extremely nasty.