Clostridium difficile diarrhea and colitis: A clinical overview

Infection with toxin-producing strains of Clostridium difficile is common a nd potentially life-threatening. It occurs mostly in patients in the hospit al or nursing home who are taking or have recently taken antibiotics. Two t oxins, A and B, damage the colonic mucosa, resulting in symptoms ranging fr om mild diarrhea to bloody diarrhea with fever and abdominal pain, colitis, or even pseudomembranous colitis. Severe cases may involve dehydration, to xic megacolon, or colonic perforation. This article reviews the microbiolog y, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prevent ion of this disease.