Efficacy of faecal microbiota transplantation for treating acute colitis in horses undergoing colic surgery

Summary

# Faecal Microbiota Transplantation for Post-Surgical Colitis in Horses Acute colitis developing in the days following colic surgery remains a challenging complication, yet the disrupted colonic microbiota offers a potential target for intervention. This case series examined four horses that received homologous faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) after developing post-operative diarrhoea and fever, with the premise that restoring a balanced bacterial population would suppress pathogenic colonisation and resolve clinical signs. All four horses showed rapid clinical improvement without adverse reactions, with complete resolution of diarrhoea and fever within 24 hours following a single FMT treatment. Whilst the sample size is small and longer-term efficacy data are lacking, these results suggest FMT warrants further investigation as a potentially safe, cost-effective alternative to prolonged antimicrobial therapy in managing post-surgical colitis—an approach that could meaningfully reduce selective pressure for antimicrobial resistance in equine practice. Practitioners considering this technique would benefit from standardised protocols and prospective clinical trials to establish optimal donor selection, preparation methods, and patient criteria.

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Key Findings

• •Faecal microbiota transplantation produced no adverse reactions in any of the four horses treated
• •Complete resolution of clinical signs (diarrhoea and fever) occurred within 24 hours following a single FMT treatment
• •FMT successfully restored balanced nonpathogenic bacterial populations, preventing pathogenic colonization in post-surgical colitis cases

Conditions Studied