Oral Vancomycin as a Therapeutic Option for PSC Yinka Davies, MD Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford School of Medicine PSC Partners Seeking a Cure 2018 Annual Conference June 23, 2018
About oral vancomycin Glycopeptide antibiotic for Gram-positive bacteria, targeting the colon Commonly used to treat Clostridium difficile (C. diff)-associated diarrhea Not absorbed by the gut
Case study 15 year old boy with PSC, IBD and C. diff infection Liver tests decreased and PSC symptoms subsided After course of vancomycin, elevated labs and symptoms returned A second course of treatment provided same improvements
Case study – cont. Repeated in multiple PSC patients without C.diff infection and has been treating PSC this way since (79+ patients treated, 75 responded between Dr. Cox & Dr. Davies)
Treatment regimen 50 mg/kg/day, typically 500mg 3 times/day Long-term therapy Brand or brand generic (ANI) Early stage disease (Stages 0-2)
Liver function tests
Liver function tests # times above max # times above max
Symptoms Itching, fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss typically subside within first month or two of treatment No common related adverse events reported VRE uncommon (0.03%-0.68%)1 - not absorbed by the gut
Pathology Improvement or at least no progression on annual: Liver biopsy Colonoscopy (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) Reduced inflammation in non- cirrhotic patients
Pathology - PSC Liver biopsy results (13 patients) 9 showed decrease in disease 3 showed no histologically evident increase or decrease in pathology 1 showed stigmata of increased pathology/disease progression
Pathology - IBD Endoscopy results (11 patients) 7 changed from chronic active colitis to unremarkable colonic mucosa or chronic inactive colitis 4 had no change: 2 consistent chronic active colitis in before & after 2 no pathologic abnormalities in before & after
Next steps A standardized treatment protocol Dosing Duration of treatment Monitoring for response to therapy Adult vs. pediatric Other therapies C. diff now being treated with FMT
References 1. Remschmidt C, Behnke M, Kola A, et al. The effect of antibiotic use on prevalence of nosocomial vancomycin-resistant enterococci - an ecologic study. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2017;6:95. 2. Davies YK, Cox KM, Abdullah BA, Safta A, Terry AB, Cox KL: Long-term treatment of primary sclerosis cholangitis in children with oral vancomycin: an immunomodulating antibiotic. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 47(1): 61-7, July 2008.