Clostridium Difficile Infection - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Clostridium Difficile Definition

Clostridium difficile is an obligate anaerobic or microaerophilic, gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacillus and it is associated with antibiotic-associated colitis and diarrhea. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium of the family Clostridium. The family also includes the bacteria that cause tetanus, botulism, and gas gangrene. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that is related to the bacterium that cause tetanus and botulism . The C. difficile bacterium has two forms, an active(infectious form) and and a nonactive(noninfectious form).

Clostridium Difficile Infection ia a group of anaerobic bacteria. There are more then hundred species of Clostridium. Clostridium perfringens also called Clostridium welchii, and Clostridium botulinum.

Clostridium Difficile Causes

A bacterium that is one of the most common causes of infection of the large bowel. Clostridium welchii is the most common agent of gas gangrene and also causes food poisoning as well as a fulminant form of bowel disease. The nitrogen-fixing bacteria found in soil and those causing botulism and tetanus. Patients at high risk for this disorder include those taking many kinds of antibiotics or antineoplastic agents that have antibiotic activity; candidates for abdominal surgery.

Clostridium difficile is now recognized as the main cause of diarrhea after antibiotic use.

Clostridium Difficile Symptoms

More severe symptoms, indicative of pseudomembranous colitis, include diarrhea that contains blood and mucous. The Symptoms ranging of Clostridium difficile may be from asymptomatic carrier states to severe pseudomembranous colitis.

In most cases, toxic megacolon, colonic perforation, and peritonitis may be developed.

The other symptoms of the Clostridium may be included:

• fever
• loss of appetite
• mild diarrhea
• nausea
• low-grade fever
• tenderness
• abdominal pain
• mild abdominal cramps
• watery diarrhea
• tenderness

Clostridium Difficile Treatments

Vancomycin for six weeks is the best treatment for the clostridium difficile. But may be in a decreasing doses like:

• 125 mg four times a day for one week
• three times a day for another week
• twice a day for another week and so on.

For people with mild symptoms, no treatment is required. But as soon as clostridium difficile disease is diagnosed, current antibiotic therapy may be reassessed by the physician.

For more severe cases, metronidazole 250 mg by mouth four times daily or 500 mg three times daily for 10 days are effective therapies.The most patients develop only a mild illness and stopping these antibiotics, usually results in rapid improvement.