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Clostridium Difficile Infections
Also called: C. diff. infections, Clostridium enterocolitis, pseudomembranous colitis
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions such as colitis. Symptoms include
- Watery diarrhea (at least three bowel movements per day for two or more days)
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Abdominal pain or tenderness
People in good health usually don't get C. difficile disease. You might get the disease if you have an illness that requires prolonged use of antibiotics. Increasingly, the disease can also be spread in the hospital. The elderly are also at risk. Treatment is with antibiotics.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Start Here
- Clostridium difficile Infection(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- FAQs about Clostridium Difficile(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
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Overviews
- C. difficile (Clostridium difficile)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Treating and Preventing C-diff Infections: A Review of the Research for Adults and Their Caregivers(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
- Also available in Spanish
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Clostridium Difficile Toxin(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Stool Test: C. Difficile Toxin(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
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Prevention/Screening
- CDC Vital Signs: Making Health Care Safer Stopping C. Difficile Infections(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Alternative Therapy
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Oral Probiotics(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
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Oral Probiotics
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Specific Conditions
- Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Information about the Current Strain of Clostridium difficile(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Pseudomembranous colitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Videos
- Clostridium Difficile Infections(Healthy Roads Media)
- Also available in Spanish
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Clostridium difficile Infections(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Clostridium difficile Infections
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Organizations
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Children
- Clostridium difficile(American Academy of Pediatrics)
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Patient Handouts
- FAQs about Clostridium Difficile(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- Pseudomembranous colitis
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Clostridium Difficile Infections - Multiple Languages
