Prospects and challenges for intestinal microbiome therapy in pediatric gastrointestinal disorders.

Fecal microbiome (microbiota) transplantation is an emerging treatment not only for refractory/recurrent Clostridium difficile infections and chronic gastrointestinal diseases, but also for metabolic syndrome, and even possibly for neurological disorders. This non-conventional therapy has been perhaps more appropriately designated as fecal bacteriotherapy (FB) as well. The employment of FB is spreading into pediatric gastroenterology. This focused review highlights the pediatric applications of FB and discusses hypotheses for its mechanism of action. We propose that intestinal microbiome therapy may be a more appropriate term for FB, which integrates its potential future applications.