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Introduction: Clostridium difficile (CD) is a serious and increasingly prevalent healthcare-associated infection. The pathogenesis of CD infection (CDI) involves the acquisition of CD with a concurrent disruption of the native gut flora. Antibiotics are a major risk although other contributing factors have also been identified. Clinical management combines discontinuation of the offending antibiotic, initiation of CD-specific antibiotic therapy, probiotic agent use, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and surgery as the "last resort" option. The aim of this study is to review short-term clinical results following the implementation of FMT protocol (FMTP) at our community-based university hospital., Methods: After obtaining Institutional Review Board and Infection Control Committee approvals, we implemented an institution-wide FMTP for patients diagnosed with CDI. Prospective tracking of all patients receiving FMT between July 1, 2015, and February 1, 2017, was conducted using REDCap™ electronic data capture system. According to the FMTP, indications for FMT included (a) three or more CDI recurrences, (b) two or more hospital admissions with severe CDI, or (c) first episode of complicated CDI (CCDI). Risk factors for initial infection and for treatment failure were assessed. Patients were followed for at least 3 months to monitor for cure/failure, relapse, and side effects. Frozen 250 mL FMT samples were acquired from OpenBiome (Somerville, MA, USA). After 4 h of thawing, the liquid suspension was applied using colonoscopy, beginning with terminal ileum and proceeding distally toward mid-transverse colon. Monitored clinical parameters included disease severity (Hines VA CDI Severity Score or HVCSS), concomitant medications, number of FMT treatments, non-FMT therapies, cure rates, and mortality. Descriptive statistics were utilized to outline the study results., Results: A total of 35 patients (mean age 58.5 years, 69% female) were analyzed, with FMT-attributable primary cure achieved in 30/35 (86%) cases. Within this subgroup, 2/30 (6.7%) patients recurred and were subsequently cured with long-term oral vancomycin. Among five primary FMT failures (14% total sample), 3 (60%) achieved medical cure with long-term oral vancomycin therapy and 2 (40%) required colectomy. For the seven patients who either failed FMT or recurred, long-term vancomycin therapy was curative in all but two cases. For patients with severe CDI (HVCSS ≥3), primary and overall cure rates were 6/10 (60%) and 8/10 (80%), respectively. Patients with CCDI ( n = 4) had higher HVCSS (4 vs. 3) and a mortality of 25%. Characteristics of patients who failed initial FMT included older age (70 vs. 57 years), female sex (80% vs. 67%), severe CDI (80% vs. 13%), and active opioid use during the initial infection (60% vs. 37%) and at the time of FMT (60% vs. 27%). The most commonly reported side effect of FMT was loose stools., Conclusions: This pilot study supports the efficacy and safety of FMT administration for CDI in the setting of a community-based university hospital. Following FMTP implementation, primary (86%) and overall (94%) nonsurgical cure rates were similar to those reported in other studies. The potential role of opioids as a modulator of CDI warrants further clinical investigation., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

The Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 exacted a terrible toll on major countries of West Africa. Latest estimates from the World Health Organization indicate that over 11,000 lives were lost to the deadly virus since the first documented case was officially recorded. However, significant progress in the fight against Ebola was made thanks to a combination of globally-supported containment efforts, dissemination of key information to the public, the use of modern information technology resources to better track the spread of the outbreak, as well as more effective use of active surveillance, targeted travel restrictions, and quarantine procedures. This article will outline the progress made by the global public health community toward containing and eventually extinguishing this latest outbreak of Ebola. Economic consequences of the outbreak will be discussed. The authors will emphasize policies and procedures thought to be effective in containing the outbreak. In addition, we will outline selected episodes that threatened inter-continental spread of the disease. The emerging topic of post-Ebola syndrome will also be presented. Finally, we will touch on some of the diagnostic (e.g., point-of-care [POC] testing) and therapeutic (e.g., new vaccines and pharmaceuticals) developments in the fight against Ebola, and how these developments may help the global public health community fight future epidemics.