Update on Clostridium difficile infection.
Clostridium difficile is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in hospital and community settings, spreading endemic and epidemic disease in developed and developing areas throughout the world. Its toxins A and B cause epithelial disruption, inflammation, and secretion. Diagnosis of infection with C. difficile is based on appropriate clinical presentation and demonstration of the presence of either toxin A or B, or both. Established treatment is still predominantly metronidazole and vancomycin. The association of antibiotic therapy with recurrent disease and antimicrobial resistance, especially vancomycin-resistant enterococci, highlights the need for new approaches to managing C. difficile infection.
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Division of Geographic and International Medicine, University of Virginia, PO Box 801379, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
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D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012008:Recurrence; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D008795:Metronidazole; D014640:Vancomycin