The Safety and Efficacy of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Combined With Nutritional Intervention in the Treatment of Functional Constipation：a Pilot Study

January 27, 2026 updated by: Peking Union Medical College Hospital
Chronic constipation is a common gastrointestinal disease with a global prevalence of about 15%, significantly affecting daily life and quality of life. Traditional treatments primarily rely on laxatives, which may lead to adverse effects with prolonged use, while surgical interventions have limited patient acceptance. Recent studies indicate that gut microbiota therapies-including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)-can effectively manage chronic constipation. This study aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of FMT combined with a prebiotic nutritional intervention (using a co-localization strategy) in the treatment of functional constipation. Additionally, the investigators will explore changes in fecal microbiota and metabolomic profiles following the treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
5

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • China
      • Beijing, China
        • Recruiting
        • Peking Union Medical College Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age: 18 to 70.

  2. Diagnostic criteria: Functional constipation (FC) in accordance with Rome IV criteria, which should meet the following conditions:

    • Symptom requirements: The following at least 2 items should occur in ≥25% of bowel movements: a. Straining during defecation; b. Hard stool (Bristol Stool Classification score 1-2); c. Feeling of incomplete evacuation; d. Rectal obstruction sensation; e. Need for finger assistance during defecation; f. Spontaneous bowel movements <3 times per week.
    • It is rare to have loose stools without laxatives.
    • Exclusion of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): IBS diagnosis criteria not meeting Rome IV.
    • Disease course requirements: Symptoms persist for at least 6 months and meet the above criteria within the last 3 months.
  3. Traditional treatment methods (dietary intervention, at least two laxatives or probiotics) are ineffective.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Pregnancy or lactation.
  2. Unable to take the intervention product or complete the examination as required.
  3. Language expression disorder or mental illness.
  4. Physical examination showed severe liver and kidney dysfunction.
  5. Acute gastrointestinal disease within 4 weeks.
  6. Constipation caused by surgery in the past 4 weeks.
  7. History or abnormal examination: cancer, severe enteritis, intestinal obstruction, inflammatory bowel disease, hypothyroidism, mental illness, stroke, heart disease, cirrhosis, renal failure, hematopoietic system diseases, organic bowel disease suggested by colonoscopy or imaging.
  8. Participation in other clinical trials within 3 months prior to enrollment.
  9. Other health problems are not suitable for participation in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: FMT with nutritional intervention group
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a method for treating imbalances in the intestinal microbiota, by extracting a portion of feces from a healthy individual that contains a diverse population of beneficial bacteria, processing it, and transplanting it into the digestive system of the recipient to restore a balanced intestinal microbiota. Nutritional intervention involves high dietary fiber preparation.
Procedure: FMT
In this group, colonoscopy is performed and a colostomy is placed in the ileocecal region. Bacterial infusion is performed for 3 days with 100ml graft per day. Within 30 minutes after receiving the microbiota transplantation, take the high dietary fiber preparation and dissolve it in water according to the instructions. Blood, stool, and colonoscopy-derived mucosal samples are collected before and after FMT and Researchers conduct follow-ups.
Other Names:
  • FMT with nutritional intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Frequency of Defecation (Spontaneous Bowel Movements)
Time Frame: Baseline, Weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24
The number of Spontaneous Bowel Movements (SBM) per week recorded by the participant in a diary.
Baseline, Weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24
Stool Consistency Assessed by Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS)
Time Frame: Baseline, Weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24
Stool consistency is evaluated using the Bristol Stool Form Scale. The scale ranges from Type 1 (Separate hard lumps) to Type 7 (Liquid consistency). Type 1 and 2 indicate constipation, while Type 3 and 4 are considered normal. Higher scores indicate looser stool consistency.
Baseline, Weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24
Severity of Defecation Straining
Time Frame: Baseline, Weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24
Patient-reported assessment of the effort required to defecate. Participants rate their straining severity on a scale (e.g., from 0 to 3, where 0 represents no straining and 3 represents severe straining). Higher scores indicate worse symptoms.
Baseline, Weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events
Time Frame: From baseline through Week 24
Number of participants with adverse events. Assessment includes monitoring for specific gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., aggravation of diarrhea, abdominal discomfort/bloating) and systemic infections (e.g., secondary intestinal infection, bacteremia). Safety is assessed via telephone and offline visits.
From baseline through Week 24
Change in Gut Microbiota Composition Assessed by Metagenomic Sequencing
Time Frame: Baseline, Weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24
Fecal samples are collected to analyze the changes in the gut microbiota structure. Analysis includes the relative abundance of bacterial species and diversity indices (e.g., Shannon index) using Metastats analysis to compare pre- and post-treatment compositions.
Baseline, Weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Jingnan Li, MD, Ph.D, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 30, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 6, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 27, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • I-25PJ1600

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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