Table 3.
Potential Side Effects Due to Newly Acquired Blastocystis sp. Infections After Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
| FMT With Blastocystis sp.–Negative Donor, n = 82 | FMT With Blastocystis sp.–Positive Donor, n = 31 | Blastocystis sp. Colonized Post-FMT, n = 8a | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side Effect | Week 1 | Weeks 2 + 3 | LTFU | Week 1 | Weeks 2 + 3 | LTFU | Week 1 | Weeks 2 + 3 | LTFU |
| Nausea, % yesa | 11.0% (9/69) | 12.2% (10/70) | 35.0% (7/20) | 13.0% (3/23) | 3.2% (1/23) | 12.5% (2/16) | 0.0% (0/8) | 0.0% (0/8) | 0.0% (0/3) |
| Abdominal pain, % yesb | 22.0% (18/70) | 18.3% (15/71) | 27.8% (5/18) | 34.8% (8/23) | 16.1% (5/23) | 25.0% (3/12) | 25.0% (2/8) | 12.5% (1/8) | 33.3% (1/3) |
| Diarrheab | 32.9% (23/70) | 22.0% (18/70) | 35.0% (7/20) | 26.1% (6/23) | 26.1% (6/23) | 25.0% (4/16) | 0.0% (0/8) | 37.5% (3/8) | 33.3% (1/3) |
| Defecation pattern | |||||||||
| Improved | n/a | 16.1% (9/56) | 17.6%c (3/17) | n/a | 13.6% (3/22) | 53.8%c (7/13) | n/a | 12.5% (1/8) | 33.3% (1/3) |
| Similar | n/a | 67.9% (38/56) | 58.8%c (10/17) | n/a | 68.2% (15/22) | 38.5%c (5/13) | n/a | 62.5% (5/8) | 66.7% (2/3) |
| Worsened | n/a | 16.1% (9/56) | 23.5%c (4/17) | n/a | 18.2% (4/22) | 7.7%c (1/13) | n/a | 25.0% (2/8) | 0.0% (0/3) |
The LTFU median duration was 35 weeks, and the range was 10–143 weeks.
Abbreviation: FMT, fecal microbiota transplantation; LTFU, long-term follow-up.
aA subgroup of patients receiving Blastocystis sp.–positive fecal suspensions with proven intestinal colonization of Blastocystis sp. post-FMT.
bPrevalences of nausea, abdominal pain, or diarrhea were not significantly different between the groups, as tested with either a χ2 or Fischer exact test in cases of n < 5.
cA statistically significant difference in the self-evaluated defecation pattern at LTFU between patients that received Blastocystis sp.–positive versus Blastocystis sp.–negative donor feces, as tested by a χ2 linear-by-linear test (P = .043).