Clostiridium difficile diarrhoea

C. difficile diarrhoea may be newly acquired or may be due to endogenous overgrowth following disruption of the normal flora, usually by antibiotic therapy.

Symptoms may develop as early as one day after exposure to antibiotics, although typically they develop 5 to 10 days after initiation of antibiotic therapy. They can also arise as late as 10 weeks after cessation of antibiotic treatment.

Older patients are at higher risk of developing C. difficile diarrhoea and having recurrent disease than younger people.

C. difficile Toxin A causes disruption of the intercellular tight junctions causing fluid secretion.

Fig 1: Clostridium Difficile Infections