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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffClostridium difficile, often called C. difficile or "C. diff," is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. Illness from C. difficile most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long term care facilities and typically occurs after use of antibiotic medications.
In recent years, C. difficile infections have become more frequent, more severe and more difficult to treat. Each year, tens of thousands of people in the United States get sick from C. difficile, including some otherwise healthy people who aren't hospitalized or taking antibiotics.
Mild illness caused by C. difficile may get better if you stop taking antibiotics. More severe symptoms require treatment with a different antibiotic.
- Kelly CP, et al. Patient information: Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (Clostridium difficile). http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
- Bartlett JG. Narrative review: The new epidemic of Clostridium difficile-associated enteric disease. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2006;145:758.
- Kelly CP, et al. Treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
- Kelly CP, et al. Clostridium difficile - More difficult than ever. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;359:1932.
- LaMont JT. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
- Durai R. Epidemiology, pathogenesis, and management of Clostridium difficile infection. Digestive Disease Science. 2007;52:2958.
- Monaghan T, et al. Recent advances in Clostridium difficile-associated disease. Gut. 2008;57:850.
- Sunenshine R, et al. Clostridium difficile-associated disease: New challenges from an established pathogen. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2006;73:187.
- Information for healthcare providers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/id_CdiffFAQ_HCP.html. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Guideline for hand hygiene in health-care settings. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2002;51:RR-16. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5116.pdf. Accessed March 2, 2009.
