[Challenges of Clostridium difficile infection]

Med Klin Intensivmed Notfmed. 2013 Nov;108(8):624-7. doi: 10.1007/s00063-013-0258-7. Epub 2013 Oct 17.
[Article in German]

Abstract

Clostridium difficile infections remain a problem especially for patients in the intensive care unit. The fact that C. difficile infections are strongly associated with antibiotic therapy calls for more caution in the use of antibiotics, especially in patients with a high risk of developing C. difficle infections. Severe infections and recurrent episodes are usually difficult to manage and therapeutic options are often limited. The method of stool transplantation, though not new, has received more attention in recent years, with studies showing stool transplantation to be a promising and easy method which has high clinical cure rates even for recurrent C. difficile infections. However, more randomised and controlled trials are needed to further study the efficacy of stool transplantation in patients with C. difficile infection.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Aminoglycosides / therapeutic use
  • Biodiversity
  • Cause of Death
  • Colonoscopy
  • Cross Infection / diagnosis
  • Cross Infection / mortality
  • Cross Infection / therapy*
  • Disinfection
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / diagnosis
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / mortality
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / therapy*
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Fidaxomicin
  • Hospital Mortality
  • Humans
  • Metronidazole / therapeutic use
  • Patient Readmission
  • Prognosis
  • Recurrence
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Transplantation
  • Vancomycin / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Aminoglycosides
  • Metronidazole
  • Vancomycin
  • Fidaxomicin