Skip Navigation


British Medical Bulletin Advance Access originally published online on June 8, 2009
British Medical Bulletin 2009 91(1):87-110; doi:10.1093/bmb/ldp021
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
91/1/87    most recent
ldp021v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Williams, O. M.
Right arrow Articles by Spencer, R. C.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Williams, O. M.
Right arrow Articles by Spencer, R. C.
Related Collections
Right arrow Infectious Diseases
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The management of Clostridium difficile infection

O. Martin Williams and Robert C. Spencer*

Health Protection Agency Regional Laboratory South West, Level 8, Queens Building, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Marlborough Street, Bristol BS2 8HW, UK

* Correspondence to: R. C. Spencer, Health Protection Agency Regional Laboratory South West, Level 8, Queens Building, Bristol Royal Infirmary Marlborough Street, Bristol BS2 8HW, UK. E-mail: robert.spencer{at}uhbristol.nhs.uk

Introduction/background: Clostridium difficile is the commonest cause of nosocomial diarrhoea. The epidemiology and clinical phenotype of the disease has dramatically changed with the global emergence of a virulent strain of C. difficile.

Source: This review was compiled using data from individual studies and review articles identified from PubMed. The retrieved articles were also examined for additional references.

Areas of agreement: Appropriate and timely infection control measures are required to control C. difficile infection (CDI) in the hospital environment, and either oral metronidazole or vancomycin remains the mainstay of treatment depending on the severity of infection.

Areas of controversy: The optimal method for diagnosing CDI remains unclear, as does the best therapeutic strategy for the management of multiple relapses.

Growing points/areas timely for developing research: Studies of new antimicrobial agents with activity against C. difficile are required to improve the management of multiply relapsing disease. The use of novel therapeutic approaches that do not require antimicrobials requires urgent research, including the use of immunological or vaccine-based regimen, bacteriotherapy or C. difficile-specific bacteriophages.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile • risk factors • treatment

Accepted for publication May 6, 2009.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.