Effectiveness of autologous emulsified stromal vascular fraction tissue injection for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in inflammatory bowel diseases patients: a pilot study.

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Complex fistulizing perianal disease is a disabling manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), seriously compromising patients 'quality of life'. The success rate of available treatments is quite low, and nearly half of the patients will develop chronically active fistulas or experience fistula recurrence. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy has shown interesting results, but the complexity and the cost of production limit its widespread use. This study aims to report the results of the innovative use of autologous emulsified adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction tissue for treating complex fistulizing perianal disease. From March 2021 to March 2022, 10 patients underwent a two-step procedure: (1) examination under anaesthesia, with loose seton drainage and 4 weeks later and (2) curettage of the fistulous tract, internal fistula closure and an injection of autologous emulsified adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction tissue harvested from the subcutaneous layer of the patient's hip. Clinical and radiological (through magnetic resonance imaging) healing were assessed at 6 months. We included five patients affected by Crohn's disease, three by ulcerative colitis and two by indeterminate colitis. All patients were on concomitant biological therapy (50% on Infliximab). One patient required a re-treatment for a relapse and two different fistulas were separately treated in an

Evidence level

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.