ClinicalTrials.gg
Active, not recruitingNCT05373784Updated May 7, 2026

FMT in Uncomplicated Diverticulitis

An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) in Diverticulitis and Uncomplicated Diverticular Disease, sponsored by Justin Maykel. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-07.

Sponsored by Justin Maykel · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
10
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is an established treatment for Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection refractory to medical management. As C. diff infection usually arises due to significant disturbances in the gut microbiome, FMT is typically performed to restore a healthy microbiome among affected patients who have failed other treatments. Diverticulitis is a major, and often recurrent, source of morbidity in the U.S for which antibiotics and surgical resection constitute the only treatment options to date. Although alterations of the intestinal microbiome have also been shown among patients with diverticular disease, research on FMT in diverticulitis is sparse. The intended goal of this project is to determine the feasibility, effectiveness and safety of FMT in the treatment of uncomplicated diverticulitis, using clinical outcomes and microbiome analyses.

Read the detailed description

This study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in treating uncomplicated diverticulitis. FMT will be delivered via colonoscopy using donor stool. Fecal material samples obtained from the University of Minnesota Microbiota Therapeutics Program (UMMTP) will be used each patients FMT. These samples undergo FDA mandated testing prior to being used as donor samples.

Recipients will undergo FMT via Colonoscopy at UMASS Memorial Medical Center and will be monitored for one hour after the procedure to ensure they are not experiencing any adverse events. They will receive a phone call 24 hours and 2 weeks after their procedure to ensure that they are at their baseline health. Recipients follow-up visits will occur at one month, 3 month, 6 months and 1 year post FMT.

Baseline stool samples will be collected from both the recipients and the UMMTP samples for baseline metagenomic sequencing. Recipient stool samples will be obtained weekly for the first month, then at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Microbiome analyses will also performed on recipient all stool samples post FMT to assess for successful engraftment of donor's microbiota onto the recipient's.

02

Conditions studied

  • Diverticulitis
  • Uncomplicated Diverticular Disease

Browse trials for

03

In context

Diverticulitis

125 studies on the registry are indexed under Diverticulitis; 22 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 10 is below the median of 120 across 63 interventional studies indexed under Diverticulitis.

Browse Diverticulitis studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with Justin Maykel 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
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Recipient Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age >18
  2. One or more prior episode(s) of uncomplicated diverticulitis, as confirmed by imaging and clinical symptoms.
  3. Eligible for surgical resection

Recipient Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Subjects \<18 years of age
  2. Patients with active diverticulitis flare
  3. Evidence of complicated diverticulitis (diverticulitis with abscess/phlegmon, bleeding, stricture, fistula or perforation) on imaging
  4. Prior fecal transplant
  5. Patients unable to provide
  6. Pregnant and/or breastfeeding women
  7. Prisoners
  8. Students
  9. Prior small or large bowel obstruction within the past year
  10. Prior major gastrointestinal or intra-abdominal surgery
  11. Any major illness or condition that may substantially increase risks to the recipient based on the investigator's judgment.
  12. Sexually active women who adhere to natural family planning alone

Donor Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adult patients ≥18 years old
  2. Colonoscopy screening as recommended by the American Cancer Society. However, it is to be noted that only recipients will undergo colonoscopy for receipt of FMT as part of the study, not donors. We will only ensure that the prospective donor follows the recommended guidelines for screening colonoscopy, which are to begin at the age of 45. If the donor does not meet such guidelines, s/he will not be allowed to proceed as a donor. If a donor is not yet eligible to undergo screening colonoscopy (i.e., younger than 45), this will not be required of him/her."
  3. Able to provide informed consent

Donor Exclusion Criteria:

  1. History of diverticulitis
  2. Recent COVID-19 infection, confirmed or suspected exposure to COVD-19 within the past eight weeks. Such subjects will be excluded irrespective of negative COVID nasopharyngeal test.
  3. Risk of infectious agent

    • Known exposure to , syphilis, or viral hepatitis (within the previous 12 months)
    • High-risk sexual behaviors including sexual contact with anyone with HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, men who have sex with men, sex for drugs or money
    • Use of illicit intravenous (IV) drug use
    • Tattoo or body piercing within 6 months
    • Incarceration within previous 12 months
    • Known current communicable disease (e.g., COVID 19, Influenza, STDs, HIV/AIDS, and C)
    • Risk factors for variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease to prevent potential transmission of abnormal/pathologic prions (cellular proteins), which are the basis of this disease.
    • Receipt of blood transfusion from country other than the United States of America (USA) and Canada in the previous 6 months
  4. Individuals who are at a higher risk for colonization with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO):

    • Health care workers
    • Persons who have been hospitalized or discharged from long-term care facilities in the past 30 days
    • Persons who regularly attend outpatient medical or surgical clinics
    • Persons who have engaged in medical tourism in the past 30 days
  5. Gastrointestinal comorbidities

    • History of inflammatory bowel disease
    • History of celiac disease
    • History of irritable bowel syndrome, idiopathic chronic constipation, or chronic diarrhea
    • History of gastrointestinal
  6. Other

    • Antibiotic use within the preceding 90 days
    • Ingestion of a potential allergen (e.g., nuts) where recipient has a known allergy to this agent within the past 30 days
    • Systemic autoimmunity (e.g., multiple sclerosis, connective tissue disease)
    • Chronic pain syndromes (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia)
    • Fever, defined as temperature of 100 F or 38.7C, on the day of stool donation. Potential donors will be allowed to re-screen within 1 week if febrile on the day of stool donation. .
    • Sexually active women who adhere to natural family planning alone as method of
    • Prisoners
    • Students
    • Pregnant women
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

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.

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.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
10 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    FMT cohort

    This will be a single-arm pilot study of patients with uncomplicated diverticulitis. All subjects enrolled as recipients will undergo FMT via colonoscopy.

    Biological: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)

Interventions

  • BiologicalFecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)

    Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) involves administering fecal material from a healthy individual into the gastrointestinal tract of another individual. This is currently an accepted method of treatment for recurrent colitis secondary to Clostridium difficile infection refractory to antibiotics/medical management. FMT can be delivered via capsule endoscopy or via colonoscopy. In this study, it will be administered via colonoscopy.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of diverticular flares/attacks since FMT

    After FMT, recipients/participants will be asked to report the number of diverticulitis episodes they have experienced since FMT

    Time frame: 1 year

  2. Number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to diverticulitis since FMT

    After FMT, recipients/participants will be asked to report the number of times (if any) they presented to the emergency room or were hospitalized due to diverticulitis.

    Time frame: 1 year

  3. Number of courses of antibiotics required for the treatment of diverticulitis since FMT

    After FMT, recipients/participants will be asked to report whether they required any antibiotics due to diverticulitis

    Time frame: 1 year

  4. Necessity for surgery

    After FMT, recipients/participants will be asked to report whether they required surgery to treat diverticulitis

    Time frame: 1 year

07

Study locations

1 site
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 May 7, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05373784
Lead sponsor
Justin Maykel
Responsible party
Justin Maykel (Professor of Surgery, University of Massachusetts, Worcester) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
May 13, 2022
Start date
Mar 15, 2024
Primary completion
Feb 20, 2026
Completion
Dec 30, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
May 7, 2026

Study contacts

Justin A Maykel, MD
principal investigator · UMass Chan Medical School

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

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

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion