Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile ( pronunciation below ) (from the Greek kloster (κλωστήρ), spindle, and Latin difficile , difficult), also known as CDF/cdf , or C. diff , is a species of Gram-positive bacteria of the genus Clostridium that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics. Clostridia are anaerobic , spore -forming rods (bacilli). C. difficile is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis , a severe inflammation of the colon , often resulting from eradication of the normal gut flora by antibiotics . In a very small percentage of the adult population, C. difficile bacteria naturally reside in the gut. Other people accidentally ingest spores of the bacteria while they are patients in a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility. When the bacteria are in a colon in which the normal gut flora has been destroyed (usually after a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as clindamycin has been used), the gut becomes overrun with C. difficile . This overpopulation is harmful because the bacteria release toxins that can cause bloating and diarrhea , with abdominal pain, which may become severe. C. difficile infections are the most common cause of pseudomembranous colitis, and in rare cases this can progress to toxic megacolon , which can be life-threatening. Latent symptoms of C. difficile infection often mimic some flu-like symptoms and can mimic disease flare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease -associated colitis. In more serious cases, oral administration of, first, metronidazole and - if that fails - then, second, vancomycin are currently the treatments of choice. Relapses of C. difficile AAD have been reported in up to 20% of cases.

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