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CompletedNCT03353506Updated Feb 20, 2020

Lyophilized Fecal Transplant vs Lyophilized Fecal Filtrate in Recurrent C Diff Infection

A Phase 2 interventional study of LFMT and LSFF in Enterocolitis and Recurrent Clostridium Difficile Infection, sponsored by Dina Kao. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-02-20.

Sponsored by Dina Kao · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
11
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI) has traditionally been offered as fecal slurry administered by enema, nasogastric tube or endoscopy. Frozen oral capsules have also shown efficacy. The potential advantage of lyophilized FMT is the relative ease of manufacturing and storage compared with fecal slurry.

Sterile fecal filtrate has previously been shown to prevent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) recurrence, suggesting that live bacteria may not be needed. This study will compare lyophilized sterile fecal filtrate (LSFF) with lyophilized FMT (LFMT) in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI).

Read the detailed description

This prospective double blind randomized pilot study will enroll 40 subjects with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in a 1:1 ratio to receive either LSFF or LFMT by capsules.

Subjects will receive 15 capsules at week 0 and be assessed at Weeks 1, 4, 12 and 24. If treatment fails, subjects will be given open label LFMT from the same donor. If treatment fails again, another FMT will be offered and the form and route of FMT delivery will be at the discretion of the treating physician.

02

Conditions studied

  • Enterocolitis
  • Recurrent Clostridium Difficile Infection
03

In context

Enterocolitis

21 studies on the registry are indexed under Enterocolitis; 3 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 11 is below the median of 75 across 14 interventional studies indexed under Enterocolitis.

Browse Enterocolitis studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with Dina Kao as lead sponsor.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. at least 3 episodes of recurrent CDI, with each episode defined as 3 or more unformed stools in 24 hours associated with positive Clostridium difficile toxin, each occurring within 3 months of each other.
  2. CDI under symptomatic control with 3 or fewer unformed stools in 24 hours for at least 2 consecutive days prior to treatment
  3. Ability to provide .
  4. Females and males must agree to use effective for the duration of the study as applicable

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Complicated CDI defined as WBC >35, significant abdominal pain and distention, evidence of toxin megacolon or pseudomembraneous colitis, hypotension defined as systolic blood pressure \<90 mmHg unresponsive to fluid resuscitation, end organ failure, or requiring admission to intensive care.
  2. Chronic diarrheal illness such as irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease unless under control or in remission of 3 months prior to enrollment.
  3. Taking or planning to take an drug within 3 months of enrollment.
  4. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy
  5. oropharyngeal or significant esophageal dysphagia
  6. Ileus or small bowel obstruction
  7. Subtotal colectomy
  8. Pregnancy or planning to become pregnant within 3 months of enrollment
  9. Breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed during the trial
  10. Active infection requiring antibiotic therapy.
  11. \<6 months -
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

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You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Life expectancy

The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
11 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    LFMT

    Lyophilized fecal microbiota transplant capsules

    Biological: LFMT

  • Experimental
    LSFF

    Lyophilized sterile fecal filtrate capsules

    Biological: LSFF

Interventions

  • BiologicalLFMT

    Lyophilized fecal microbiota transplant

  • BiologicalLSFF

    Lyophilized sterile fecal filtrate

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Resolution of RCDI

    Proportion of subjects without RCDI

    Time frame: 8 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Resolution of RCDI

    Proportion of subjects with sustained cure

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  2. Serious Adverse Events

    Mortality directly attributable to CDI or treatment

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  3. Serious Adverse Events

    Infection directly attributable to treatment

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  4. Minor Adverse Events

    nausea

    Time frame: 1 week

  5. Minor Adverse Events

    vomiting

    Time frame: 1 week

  6. Minor Adverse Events

    abdominal pain

    Time frame: 1 week

  7. Difficulty in swallowing capsules

    Reported by subjects as ranging between none, moderate or severe

    Time frame: 1 week

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Alberta
    Edmonton, Alberta T6G2X8, Canada
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 20, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03353506
Lead sponsor
Dina Kao
Responsible party
Dina Kao (Medical Doctor, University of Alberta) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Nov 27, 2017
Start date
Feb 14, 2018
Primary completion
Jun 5, 2019
Completion
Oct 10, 2019
Last update
Feb 20, 2020

Study contacts

Dina Kao, MD
principal investigator · University of Alberta

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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