No, you are not reading that wrong, the National Geriatric Hospital in Costa Rica carried out a study with the participation of 31 patients who had cases of diarrhea caused by the bacteria Clostridium Difficile. The patients were treated  with an infusion of feces dissolved in saline solution.

The study, carried out between 2015 and 2016 and which had an effectivity of 90% in a first and second infusion, was presented in the 9th Global Scientific Conference which took place in Thailand.

Clostridium Diffícile is a symptomatic infection caused by bacterium and that is difficult to treat.

This is not a new treatment, as a matter of fact “fecal transplants” or bacteriotherapy as many prefer to call it, was first tried during the 4th century. The idea is to help the patient recover the good intestinal flora or gut bacteria eliminated by the Clostridium Difficile, elevating the quality of life of the patient and reducing the time at the medical facility and the isolation.

The maximum amount that is transplanted is 250ml which can be administered to the patient through a nasogastric tube (tube inserted through the nose) or a retention enema (injecting the solution into the rectum and holding for a specific period of time).

The recovery of the patients was seen in some cases just a few hours after the infusion was applied, while in other cases it took up to 8 days to see the results. The feces came from family members or friends of the patients that were healthy. The feces have to be tested and then mixed with the saline solution through a careful process.

The treatment with feces infusion has also been successfully applied in other hospitals in Costa Rica such as the Puntarenas and Turrialba hospitals.