Clostridium difficile infection.

摘要

in 1935, a new species of bacteria was named Bacillus difficilis, the species name given because of its difficult anaerobic isolation from human faeces. 40 years later, it was renamed Clostridium difficile and identified as the cause of pseudomembranous colitis. This organism is the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhoea, and incidence has increased since the appearance of a hypervirulentstrain in2000. Diagnosisandmanagement of C difficile infection are challenging because of varied clinical presentation, limited treatment options, common concomitant illness, and disease recurrences.