title: Emerging therapies for Clostridium difficile infections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the leading identifiable gastrointestinal disease in healthcare institutions, but the response rates to the two standard therapies for CDI are declining and so innovative therapies are being developed for CDI. The purpose of this paper is to review the data on the efficacy and safety of emerging therapies for CDI and assess their potential for effectiveness based on the clinical phase of development and marketing challenges.
  
  
  METHODS
  Emerging therapies for CDI are reviewed including new antibiotics, peptides, immune regulators, probiotics and toxin binders. PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar and online clinical trial registers are searched from 1976 to 2010 for articles unrestricted by language. Secondary searches by author, manufacturing companies and FDA websites are also performed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Of the emerging therapies for CDI, several may ultimately reduce the incidence of CDI and the economic burden of this disease on the healthcare system. Several emerging treatments (fidaxomicin, rifaximin and mAbs) show the most promise, although only one is currently being actively developed. Use of other clostridial strains, probiotic strains and immune enhancers have great potential as therapies, but require further development.
authors: Puget Sound VA HealthCare System, Department of Health Services Research and Development, Seattle, WA 98101, USA. lynne.mcfarland@va.gov
authors: Lynne V
authors: LV
authors: McFarland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000187:drug effects*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic