ClinicalTrials.gg
Active, not recruitingNCT03524352POCAUpdated Feb 17, 2026

the Prophylaxis of Recurrent Pouchitis After Fecal Microbiota Transplant in UC With Ileo-anal Anastomosis

A Phase 3 interventional study of fecal microbiota and Placebo in Pouchitis, sponsored by Nantes University Hospital. Active, not recruiting at 13 sites in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-17.

Sponsored by Nantes University Hospital · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
42
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory digestive (IBD) disease medically treated with corticosteroids, aminosalicylates, immunomodulators, and biologics. Almost one third of UC patients will require surgical interventions because of fulminant colitis, dysplasia, cancer, or medical refractory diseases. Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the current standard surgical intervention. Anastomotic leak, pouch failure, pelvic sepsis, and pouch ischemia can occur after the procedure, but the most common long-term complication is pouchitis, an idiopathic inflammatory condition involving the ileal reservoir. Symptoms of pouchitis are increased stool frequency, urgency, incontinence, bloody stools, abdominal or pelvic discomfort, fatigue, malaise, and fever. The prevalence of pouchitis ranges from 23 to 46 %, with an annual incidence up to 40 %. Though the majority of initial cases of pouchitis are easily managed with a short course of antibiotics, in about 5 to 15 % of cases, inflammation of the pouch becomes chronic with very few treatments available.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a novel therapy to transfer normal intestinal flora from a healthy donor to a patient with a medical condition potentially caused by disrupted homeostasis of intestinal microbiota or dysbiosis. FMT has been widely used in refractory Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and recently it has gained popularity for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Previous studies suggested that manipulating the composition of intestinal flora through antibiotics, probiotics, and prebiotic achieved significant results for treating acute episodes of UC-associated pouchitis. However, currently there is no established effective treatment for chronic antibiotic dependent pouchitis. Our project aims to evaluate the delay of relapse in chronic recurrent pouchitis after FMT versus sham transplantation.

02

Conditions studied

  • Pouchitis

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Keywords

  • recurrent pouchitis
  • fecal microbiota transplant
03

In context

Pouchitis

50 studies on the registry are indexed under Pouchitis; 12 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 42 is above the median of 20 across 42 interventional studies indexed under Pouchitis.

Browse Pouchitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Nantes University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 839 studies on the registry; 195 are open to participants now.

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

Eligibility criteria

4.2. INCLUSION CRITERIA

Subjects must satisfy the following criteria to be enrolled in the study:

  1. Male or female ≥ 18 years at the time of signing the form (ICF).
  2. Subject must understand and voluntarily sign an ICF prior to conduct the study related assessments/procedure.
  3. Willing and able to adhere to the study visit scheduled and other protocol requirements.
  4. Subjects must have been operated with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) with a duration of at least 6 month prior the screening visit.
  5. Subject must have a diagnosis of recurrent pouchitis defined as at least 2 episodes in the last year or relapsing immediately after a reasonable response to antibiotherapy (the antifungal medication is allowed until the day before transplantation).
  6. Subject must be in remission with a Pouchitis Disease Activity Index (PDAI) \< 7 at the screening
  7. Subject must affiliation with social security system or beneficiary from such system
  8. Female of must have a negative pregnancy test at screening and must agree to practice effective methods of

4.3. NON-INCLUSION CRITERIA

Subjects who meet any of the following non inclusion criteria could not be enrolled in this study:

  1. Crohn disease or indeterminate colitis
  2. Anastomotic stenosis
  3. Subject with prior treatment by probiotic within 3 month prior to the transplantation visit
  4. Subject with prior treatment by within 6 weeks prior to the transplantation visit
  5. Subject with prior treatment by immunosuppressors within 3 month prior to the transplantation visit unless treatment has been introduced for more than 8 weeks at a stable dose.
  6. Prior treatment with a biologic within 3 month prior the transplantation visit unless treatment has been introduced for more than 8 weeks at a stable dose.
  7. Documented active infection of any kind in the last 6 months likely to require anti-infective treatment during the next months
  8. (ANC) \< 1.5 x 109 /L (1,500 mm3)
  9. Infection with chronic
  10. Pregnant female or breastfeeding
  11. Chronic medical or psychiatric disease that may interfere with subject's ability to comply with study procedures
  12. Administration of drug within 3 months prior to planned FMT
  13. Adults under guardianship, Safeguard justice or trusteeship
  14. Subject with difficulty in follow-up (vacation, job transfer, geographical distance, lack of motivation).
  15. Patients with to colonoscopy or anesthesia (if necessary)
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(8)

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

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

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.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

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.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

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.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
42 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    fecal microbiota

    Other: fecal microbiota

  • Placebo comparator
    placebo

    Other: Placebo

Interventions

  • Otherfecal microbiota

    fecal microbiota in suspension

  • OtherPlacebo

    sterile saline

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of days between the date of transplantation and the date of relapse according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: 106 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of relapse rate according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  2. Number of relapse rate according to pochitis disease activity index (physiological and endoscopic parameter)

    Time frame: 52 weeks

  3. Number of days within the transplantation and the instauration of an antibiotherapy or alternative treatment

    Time frame: 52 weeks

  4. Number of adverse events

    Time frame: 104 weeks

  5. Number of fecal microbiota engraftment by 16S sequencing

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  6. Number of evolution of health-related to disability according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: weeks -5

  7. Number of evolution of health-related to disability according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: 0 week

  8. Number of evolution of health-related to disability according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: 8 weeks

  9. Number of evolution of health-related to disability according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  10. Number of evolution of health-related to disability according to physiological and endoscopic parameter (pochitis disease activity index)

    Time frame: 52 weeks

07

Study locations

13 sites
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Trang-Poisson C, Kerdreux E, Poinas A, Planche L, Sokol H, Bemer P, Cabanas K, Hivernaud E, Biron L, Flet L, Montassier E, Le Garcasson G, Chiffoleau A, Jobert A, Lepelletier D, Caillon J, Le Pape P, Imbert BM, Bourreille A. Impact of fecal microbiota transplantation on chronic recurrent pouchitis in ulcerative colitis with ileo-anal anastomosis: study protocol for a prospective, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. Trials. 2020 Jun 3;21(1):455. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04330-1. PubMed 32493442 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Mar 2020 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for May 2028, 98 months after the start.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 2, 2018
First posted
May 14, 2018
StartActual
Mar 12, 2020
Primary completionEst.
May 12, 2028
CompletionEst.
May 12, 2028
Last update
Feb 17, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 17, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03524352
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 14, 2018
Start date
Mar 12, 2020
Primary completion
May 12, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
May 12, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 17, 2026

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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