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
Case Reports
. 2021 Dec 31:2021:6019068.
doi: 10.1155/2021/6019068. eCollection 2021.

A Rare Case of Pseudomembranous Colitis Presenting with Pleural Effusion and Ascites with Literature Review

Hossain Salehi  1 , Amir Mohammad Salehi  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Rare Case of Pseudomembranous Colitis Presenting with Pleural Effusion and Ascites with Literature Review

Hossain Salehi et al. Case Rep Gastrointest Med. .

Abstract

Clostridium difficile infection usually results from long-term and irregular antibiotic intake. The high-risk individuals for this infection include the patients undergoing chemotherapy due to malignancy, immunocompromised patients, and hospitalized patients receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics. The most common clinical manifestation of Clostridium difficile infection is diarrhea. However, pleural effusion and ascites have rarely been observed. As mentioned, these manifestations can be developed in a patient being treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Therefore, the present study reports a rare case of Clostridium difficile infection manifesting with these rare manifestations who was a 78-year-old female patient with a history of COVID-19, orthopedic surgery, and antibiotic treatment with cefixime and gentamicin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Computed tomography (CT) showing the presence of ascites and pleural effusion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Patient colonoscopic findings (a). The presence of mucopurulent exudates (pseudomembrane) in pathological examinations indicates CDI (b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Marra F., Ng K. Controversies around epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of Clostridium difficile infection. Drugs . 2015;75(10):1095–1118. doi: 10.1007/s40265-015-0422-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cohen S. H., Gerding D. N., Johnson S., et al. Clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults: 2010 update by the society for healthcare epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the infectious diseases society of America (IDSA) Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology . 2010;31(5):431–455. doi: 10.1086/651706. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brown K., Valenta K., Fisman D., Simor A., Daneman N. Hospital ward antibiotic prescribing and the risks of clostridium difficile infection. JAMA Internal Medicine . 2015;175(4):626–633. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8273. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liang Y., He X., Wang T., et al. Massive hydrothorax and ascites as the primary manifestation of infection with Clostridium difficile: a case report and literature review. Frontiers in Pediatrics . 2020;8 doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00254.254 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alcalá L., Reigadas E., Marín M., Martín A., Catalán P., Bouza E. Impact of clinical awareness and diagnostic tests on the underdiagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases: Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology . 2015;34(8):1515–1525. doi: 10.1007/s10096-015-2380-3. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types