Disease Associated with Clostridium difficile Infection

Editorials15 February 1989Disease Associated with Clostridium difficile InfectionDale N. Gerding, MDDale N. Gerding, MDAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-110-4-255 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptNot only is it difficult to diagnose gastrointestinal illness caused byClostridium difficileorganisms, it is even difficult to reconcile all the terms that have historically evolved to describe the illness, including pseudomembranous enterocolitis, pseudomembranous colitis, antibiotic-associated colitis, clindamycin-associated colitis, antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea,C. difficilecolitis,C. difficilediarrhea, andC. difficile—associated disease (the latter term reflects the spectrum of disease from self-limited diarrhea to colitis and life-threatening toxic megacolon). The clinical description that prompted the discovery of theC. difficileas the causative agent of this disease by Tedesco and colleagues (1) in 1974, was shown in...References1. TedescoBartonAlpers FRD. Clindamycin-associated colitis. Ann Intern Med. 1974;81:429-33. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Bartlett J. Introduction. In: Rolfe RD, Finegold SM, eds. Clostridium Difficile: Its Role in Intestinal Disease. San Diego: Academic Press, Inc. 1988:1-13. CrossrefGoogle Scholar3. SwartzbergMarescaRemington JRJ. Gastrointestinal side effects associated with clindamycin. Arch Intern Med. 1976;136:876-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. BartlettChangGurwithGorbachOnderdonk JTMSA. Antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis due to toxin-producing clostridia. N Engl J Med. 1978;298:531-4. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. PetersonOlsonShanholtzerGerding LMCD. 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Characterization of a nosocomial Clostridium difficile outbreak using plasmid profile typing and clindamycin susceptibility. J Infect Dis. 1988;158:731-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. FeketyKimBrownBattsCudmoreSilva RKDDMJ. Epidemiology of antibiotic-associated colitis: isolation of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment. Am J Med. 1981;70:906-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar16. GerdingJohnsonOlsonWeilerHughesClabots DSMMRC. Prospective controlled study of vinyl glove use to interrupt Clostridium difficile nosocomial transmission. Abstracts of the Eighty-Eighth Annual Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, May 8-13, 1988, Miami Beach, Florida. Abstract #L-32, American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC, 1988;416. Google Scholar17. LynchJacksonCummingsStamm PMMW. Rethinking the role of isolation practices in the prevention of nosocomial infections. Ann Intern Med. 1987;107:243-6. LinkGoogle Scholar18. BenderBennettLaughon BRB. Is Clostridium difficile endemic in chronic-care facilities? Lancet. 1986;2:11-3. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. DelmeeVandercamAvesaniMichaux MBVJ. Epidemiology and prevention of Clostridium difficile infections in a leukemia unit. Eur J Clin Microbiol. 1987;6:623-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar20. BoltonCulshaw RM. Faecal metronidazole concentrations during oral and intravenous therapy for antibiotic-associated colitis due to Clostridium difficile. Gut. 1986;27:1169-72. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Veterans Administration Medical Center University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis, Minnesota PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByClostridium difficile infection in fever patients with gynecological malignanciesEvaluation of risk factors for a fulminant Clostridium difficile infection after cardiac surgery: a single-center, retrospective cohort studyClostridium difficile carriage in adult cystic fibrosis (CF); implications for patients with CF and the potential for transmission of nosocomial infectionAntimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium difficile isolated from food animals on farmsRapid detection of ermB gene in Clostridium difficile by loop-mediated isothermal amplificationDetection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in powdered infant and follow-up formulae in EgyptNovel avenues for Clostridium difficile infection drug discoveryRecent New Drug Approvals, Part 2: Drugs Undergoing Active Clinical Studies in ChildrenFidaxomicin versus vancomycin for infection with Clostridium difficile in Europe, Canada, and the USA: a double-blind, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trialFidaxomicin: The Newest Addition to the Armamentarium Against Clostridium difficile InfectionsFidaxomicin: first-in-class macrocyclic antibioticClostridium difficile InfectionPostoperative Clostridium difficile-associated diarrheaAnaerobic InfectionsClostridium difficile and the Disease It CausesClostridium difficile en el anciano: actualización epidemiológica y terapéuticaA DNA vaccine targeting the receptor-binding domain of Clostridium difficile toxin AA clinical risk index for Clostridium difficile infection in hospitalised patients receiving broad-spectrum antibioticsSafety, Tolerance, and Pharmacokinetic Studies of OPT-80 in Healthy Volunteers following Single and Multiple Oral DosesClostridium difficile: Emergence of Hypervirulence and Fluoroquinolone ResistanceDiarrea asociada a Clostridium difficile en el paciente ancianoNarrative Review: The New Epidemic of Clostridium difficile–Associated Enteric DiseaseJohn G. 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