Typing studies suggest that most cases of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are unrelated to other cases of active disease in the hospital. New cases may instead be due to transmissions from asymptomatic carriers or progression of latent C. difficile present on admission to active infection. Direct exposure to antibiotics remains the primary risk factor for CDI but ward-level antibiotic use, antibiotic exposure of the prior room occupant, and C. difficile status of the prior room occupant increase risk for C. difficile acquisition while antibiotic exposure, gastric acid suppression, and immunosuppression increase risk for progression to infection. These insights suggest possible new approaches to prevent CDI, including screening to identify and isolate carriers, universal gloving, greater use of sporicidal cleaning methods, enhancing antibiotic and possibly proton pump inhibitor stewardship, and prescribing prophylactic vancomycin and/or probiotics to colonized patients to prevent progression from colonization to infection. We review current evidence and questions related to these interventions.
Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China.
() was a gram-positive anaerobic in the gut, exhibiting clinical manifestations ranging from mild diarrhoea to fatal pseudomembranous colitis. infection (CDI) remains a serious public health problem and accounted for an estimated 360,075 cases in the United States in 2021. It has attracted the utmost attention of the world health organization (WHO).
Clinical symptoms of infection (CDI) range from diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis. A major challenge in managing CDI is the high rate of relapse. Several studies correlate the production of CDT binary toxin by clinical strains of with higher relapse rates.
Background/objectives: , an anaerobic bacillus ubiquitous in nature, is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhoea and one of the main causes of mortality by nosocomial infections. We aimed to identify the main predictors of the risk of dying and the characteristics of a three-year cohort of patients hospitalised in our clinic that eventually had an unfavourable outcome.
Methods: We collected retrospectively available data for all patients hospitalised between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023.
Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI), often severe when producing toxin A, toxin B, and CDT, can cause life-threatening fulminant infections, especially in vulnerable patients. This case report discusses a 39-year-old woman with no medical history who developed severe CDI after antibiotic treatment, leading to fatal hypovolemic shock.
Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos (CCT- La Plata CONICET, CIC-PBA, Ciencias Exactas, UNLP). Argentina; Cátedra de Microbiología. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Ciencias Exactas, UNLP). Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address:
Clostridioides difficile is a spore-forming pathogen capable of causing severe disease in humans. Critical stages in the biological cycle of this microorganism include sporogenesis/germination and toxin production by vegetative cells. Antagonizing these pivotal events could aid in prevention and treatment to manage this pathogen.
