Canine Patients needed for ground-breaking Faecal Matter Transplantation Study

Internal Medicine team needs patients with chronic small intestinal diarrhoea for FMT study

Internal Medicine Specialists at Davies Veterinary Specialists are urgently seeking canine patients with chronic small intestinal diarrhoea, to help with a potentially ground-breaking multi-centre study on faecal matter transplantation (FMT).

Currently chronic diarrhoea in dogs is usually managed by diet, probiotics or by antibiotics, which can risk the development of antibiotic resistant infections. The use of immunosuppressive agents is recommended, if the diet/therapeutic approaches fail to control the signs. FMT offers a potential new option; the purpose of the trial is to investigate if FMT contributes to a more rapid resolution of clinical signs in patients with chronic diarrhoea.

Faecal matter transplantation (FMT) has been used in people to treat Clostridium difficile infections and has also been trialled in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

The canine study is being conducted in association with Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service and eight other private practices or universities.

“We are interested in seeing if FMT will help with the management of chronic enteropathy in dogs,” said Julien Bazelle, a European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine at Davies who is actively involved with the study together with Davies’ Head of Internal Medicine Ian Battersby.

“The goal is to recruit, over a short period of time, canine patients with chronic small intestinal diarrhoea, for a randomised trial in which the cohort receives or not FMT at the time of the initial investigations and prior to any other treatment.”

Julien and Ian are looking for canine patients aged 6 months to 10 years with a history of chronic small intestinal diarrhoea (+/- other GI signs) to participate in the study. Half of the dogs will receive FMT and the other half will be managed without. FMT will be performed in eligible patients during the sedation for their routine abdominal ultrasound. Transplanted faecal matter will be administered via a retention enema.

To be eligible, dogs must not have received antibiotics, probiotics or steroids recently.

If you have a potentially suitable patient, please contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

Further information

Click here for more information on the Internal Medicine Service at Davies Veterinary Specialists.

Click here to read our fact sheet on diarrhoea in dogs and cats.