aetiology
Last reviewed 07/2021
This condition is due to the overgrowth in the colon of Clostridium difficile.
Classically, it is associated with treatment with clindamycin or lincomycin antibiotics. It now occurs increasingly with other antibiotic agents, for example, ampicillin and amoxycillin - broad spectrum beta-lactams - and with third generation cephalosporins.
The antibiotic properties which particularly predispose to overgrowth include:
- incomplete absorption when given orally
- a pronounced enterohepatic circulation
- high biliary excretion when given parenterally
Multiple or repeated antibiotic courses in the same patient are a risk factor for the development of infection.