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Review
. 2016 Apr;22(4):1020-5.
doi: 10.1097/MIB.0000000000000666.

Clostridium difficile Infection in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Suchitra K Hourigan  1 , Cynthia L Sears, Maria Oliva-Hemker
Affiliations
Review

Clostridium difficile Infection in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Suchitra K Hourigan et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are disproportionately susceptible to Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and the incidence is increasing. There has also been growing recognition of asymptomatic C. difficile colonization in pediatric IBD, which can sometimes be very difficult to distinguish from symptomatic C. difficile-associated disease in this population. In this study, we discuss the current knowledge of C. difficile infection in children with IBD, reviewing epidemiology, risk factors, and outcomes that often differ from the adult IBD population, and discuss the complexities and dilemmas of diagnosing and treating CDI in pediatric IBD.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

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