Clostridium difficile infection is an intestinal infection that can be life threatening. The incidence is increasing in children, and there is resistance to standard treatment with rising rates of recurrence. In resistant and recurrent cases, manipulation of the microbiome by FMT is an effective treatment. We are examining the intestinal microbiome in children before and after FMT to gain and better understanding of why this treatment is effective and also to improve FMT treatment in the future.

The Exercise Therapy for Advanced Lung Disease Trial: Response and Adaptation to Aerobic Exercise in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease

Gene Expression Profiling of Lung Explant and Biopsy Tissue in Subjects with Advanced Lung Disease

This study seeks to evaluate the relationship between donor-derived cell-free DNA and transplant rejection in heart and lung transplant patients. (Advanced Heart Failure group offers this study for heart transplant patients only.) This is a mid-Atlantic, multicenter prospective study to assess utility of donor-derived cell-free DNA as a marker of allograft rejection, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, CMV infection and other post-transplant complications.

Genome Transplant Dynamics (GRAFT)

The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Amitiza (lubiprostone) in children with constipation. Even though traditional treatment of functional constipation in children is available and safe, for many patients it does not provide a satisfying improvement, prompting interest in other therapeutic strategies. Since lubiprostone has been shown to increase the frequency of spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs) in both adults and children, further evaluation in well controlled studies in children is needed to demonstrate use in a paediatric population. Study requires use of an electronic diary nightly, 6 visits and 5 blood draws.