Bacterial RNAP

This is a randomized, double-blind study to assess the safety and efficacy of fidaxomicin compared to vancomycin for decolonization of C. difficile in IBD patients. A total of 60 patients who meet eligibility criteria will be randomized 1:1 to either the fidaxomicin or vancomycin arm. The vancomycin arm will receive a dose of 125 mg PO q 6 hours for 10 days. The fidaxomicin arm will receive 200 mg PO BID for 10 days. In order to ensure blinding, both antibiotics will be concealed in opaque 00 capsule shells. In addition, those in the fidaxomicin arm will receive 2 placebo capsules so that all participants will receive 4 capsules daily for 10 days. Microbiome assessment and C. difficile testing will be performed at baseline, day 5, day 10, and weeks 4, 8, and 26.

Gastrointestinal symptoms are commonly reported in as much as 65% of people with CF even independent of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) and the most frequent of these symptoms are bloating/distension, flatulence, abdominal pain and bowel habit changes. An alteration in the intestinal microbiome due to intestinal dysmotility, inflammation or other changes including pH changes in the intestine related to CFTR gene mutation may cause intestinal dysbiosis leading to a bacterial overgrowth in the proximal small intestine which may explain some of the findings of distension and bloating in CF.
Our small pilot study aims to investigate use of the only FDA-approved antibiotic, rifaximin for a GI syndrome- IBS, to treat bloating and global GI symptoms in CF patients with bloating and distension. Our goal is to recruit patients >12 years and age/sex matched into rifaximin and placebo arms with total of 100 recruited subjects recruited.