Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jul;1(4):234-242.
doi: 10.4161/gmic.1.4.12706. Epub 2010 Jun 16.

Clostridium difficile infection: An overview of the disease and its pathogenesis, epidemiology and interventions

V K Viswanathan  1 , M J Mallozzi, Gayatri Vedantam
Affiliations

Clostridium difficile infection: An overview of the disease and its pathogenesis, epidemiology and interventions

V K Viswanathan et al. Gut Microbes. 2010 Jul.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the primary cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is a significant nosocomial disease. In the past ten years, variant toxin-producing strains of C. difficile have emerged, that have been associated with severe disease as well as outbreaks worldwide. This review summarizes current information on C. difficile pathogenesis and disease, and highlights interventions used to combat single and recurrent episodes of CDI.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. McDonald LC, Owings M, Jernigan DB. Clostridium difficile infection in patients discharged from US short-stay hospitals 1996–2003. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:23–25. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McFarland LV. Evidence-based review of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea and Clostridium difficile infections. Anaerobe. 2009;15:274–280. - PubMed
    1. Dubberke ER, Wertheimer AI. Review of current literature on the economic burden of Clostridium difficile infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009;30:57–66. - PubMed
    1. O'Brien JA, Lahue BJ, Caro JJ, Davidson DM. The emerging infectious challenge of Clostridium difficile-associated disease in Massachusetts hospitals: clinical and economic consequences. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2007;28:1219–1227. - PubMed
    1. O'Connor JR, Johnson S, Gerding DN. Clostridium difficile infection caused by the epidemic BI/NAP1/027 strain. Gastroenterology. 2009;136:1913–1924. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources