Clostridium difficile infection: a review of current and emerging therapies

 
This item is provided by the institution :

Repository :
Annals of Gastroenterology
see the original item page
in the repository's web site and access all digital files if the item*
share




2016 (EN)

Clostridium difficile infection: a review of current and emerging therapies (EN)

Ofosu, Andrew

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) is the most common cause of healthcare‑associated infections in US hospitals. The epidemic strain NAP1/BI /ribotype 027 accounts for outbreaks worldwide, with increasing mortality and severity. CDI is acquired from an endogenous source or from spores in the environment, most easily acquired during the hospital stay. The use of antimicrobials disrupts the intestinal microflora enabling C. difficile to proliferate in the colon and produce toxins. Clinical diagnosis in symptomatic patients requires toxin detection from stool specimens and rarely in combination with stool culture to increase sensitivity. However, stool culture is essential for epidemiological studies. Oral metronidazole is the recommended therapy for milder cases of CDI and oral vancomycin or fidaxomicin for more severe cases. Treatment of first recurrence involves the use of the same therapy used in the initial CDI. In the event of a second recurrence oral vancomycin often given in a tapered dose or intermittently, or fidaxomicin may be used. Fecal transplantation is playing an immense role in therapy of recurrent CDI with remarkable results. Fulminant colitis and toxic megacolon warrant surgical intervention. Novel approaches including new antibiotics and immunotherapy against CDI or its toxins appear to be of potential value.Keywords Clostridium difficile infection, fecal microbial transplantation, fidaxomicin, humanized monoclonal antitoxin antibodies, toxic megacolonAnn Gastroenterol 2016; 29 (2): 147-154DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20524/aog.2016.0006 (EN)

info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion


English

2016-03-31


Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology (EN)

1792-7463
1108-7471
Annals of Gastroenterology; Volume 29, No 2 (2016); 147 (EN)




*Institutions are responsible for keeping their URLs functional (digital file, item page in repository site)