Clostridioides difficile Infection

Clostridioides difficile infection, often called C. diff and formerly known as Clostridium difficile infection, is caused by a spore-forming bacterium and produces watery diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain, accounting for roughly a fifth of all antibiotic-associated diarrhea. It develops when antibiotics disrupt the normal gut bacteria, letting C. difficile multiply and release toxins that damage the intestinal lining and reduce absorption of certain fatty acids, causing diarrhea; in severe cases it can progress to pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon, a perforated colon, or sepsis. The bacterium spreads through spores in feces by the fecal-oral route, aided by surface contamination and healthcare workers' hands, and people at greatest risk include those taking antibiotics or acid-reducing drugs, hospitalized patients, people in poor health, and older adults. In the United States it caused an estimated 453,000 cases and 29,000 deaths in 2011 alone, making it the most common microbial cause of healthcare-associated infection in the country's hospitals.