title: Clostridium difficile Infection in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
abstract: Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are disproportionately susceptible to Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and the incidence is increasing. There has also been growing recognition of asymptomatic C. difficile colonization in pediatric IBD, which can sometimes be very difficult to distinguish from symptomatic C. difficile-associated disease in this population. In this study, we discuss the current knowledge of C. difficile infection in children with IBD, reviewing epidemiology, risk factors, and outcomes that often differ from the adult IBD population, and discuss the complexities and dilemmas of diagnosing and treating CDI in pediatric IBD.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Pediatrics, Inova Children's Hospital, Fairfax, Virginia; †Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; ‡Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Pediatric Specialists of Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia; and §Inova Translational Medicine Institute.
authors.forename: Suchitra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hourigan
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Sears
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oliva-Hemker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D011379:Prognosis