Clostridium Difficile News and Research

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Clostridium difficile is a type of bacterium found in human and animal waste. Clostridium difficile is a common cause of diarrhea that occurs in hospitals. It can also cause diarrhea or other intestinal disorders in patients treated with antibiotics.

C. difficile doesn’t harm infants, but serves as a reservoir to affect adults

Infants and toddlers frequently carry toxigenic Clostridium difficile, usually with no harm to themselves, but can serve as a reservoir and spread the bacteria to adults in whom it can cause severe disease, according to a study by a team of Swedish researchers published ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

4 Dec 2013

PrimeraDx gets FDA clearance for ICEPlex C. difficile Assay Kit and ICEPlex System

PrimeraDx, a molecular diagnostics company, announced today that the ICEPlex C. difficile Assay Kit and the ICEPlex System have received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

3 Dec 2013

Restoring helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients with RCDI, find scientists

Scientists at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and physicians at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, MD, have found that restoring the normal, helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients suffering from recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. Transplanting fecal matter of healthy donors into patients with recurrent C. difficile infection appears to restore normal bacterial composition and resolve infection.

27 Nov 2013

Government spending cuts within NHS increase risk of Clostridium difficile infection

72% of clinicians believe that Government spending cuts within the NHS increase the risk of hospital acquired infections. The ‘Think C-differently’ report, which advises on the current Clostridium difficile landscape, found that despite stringent measures to manage and control Clostridium difficile infection, the NHS is still battling to keep infection rates to a minimum.

8 Nov 2013

Researchers identify obesity as possible risk factor for clostridium difficile infection

Researchers from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine have identified obesity as a possible risk factor for clostridium difficile infection. These findings, which appear online in Emerging Infectious Diseases, may contribute to improved clinical surveillance of those at highest risk of disease.

25 Oct 2013

AmpliPhi, University of Leicester partner to develop novel bacteriophage therapy against C. difficile

AmpliPhi BioSciences Corporation, the leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat antibiotic resistant infections, announces it has entered into Collaboration and License Agreements with UK-based University of Leicester to develop a novel bacteriophage therapy targeting Clostridium difficile, a serious gastrointestinal infection for which new treatments are urgently required.

17 Oct 2013

Researchers re-invented class of popular antimicrobial drugs by altering their chemical structures

By tinkering with their chemical structures, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have essentially re-invented a class of popular antimicrobial drugs, restoring and in some cases, expanding or improving, their effectiveness against drug-resistant pathogens in animal models.

8 Oct 2013

Swallowing pills containing fecal bacteria stops recurrent bouts of C. diff infection

Swallowing pills containing a concentrate of fecal bacteria successfully stops recurrent bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection by rebalancing the bacteria in the gut, suggests a study being presented at the IDWeek 2013- meeting today.

5 Oct 2013

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

In a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the impact of a medical specialty on patient outcomes, researchers found that hospitalized patients with severe infections such as meningitis and Clostridium difficile are significantly less likely to die if they receive care from an infectious diseases specialist. The study, which analyzed nearly 130,000 Medicare patient cases, is now available online and will be published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Sep 2013

Inhibiting use of antibiotics may be more effective in reducing C.diff infection

New ways are needed to fight the infection Clostridium difficile and better use of antibiotics could be key, according to the authors of ground-breaking research.

26 Sep 2013

Study finds low doses of vancomycin to be effective in treating serious C-difficile infection

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) treatment in a hospital setting using low dose oral vancomycin showed similar effectiveness compared to high dose, according to a new study by researchers at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

12 Sep 2013

Large study shows effective test for diagnosis of C-Diff infection

The largest study of its kind has shown the most effective test for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile (C-Diff), a bacterial infection which causes 15,000-20,000 deaths a year in hospitals in the United States.

4 Sep 2013

Study estimates total annual costs for five major health care-associated infections

A study estimates that total annual costs for five major health care-associated infections (HAIs) were $9.8 billion, with surgical site infections contributing the most to overall costs, according to a report published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

3 Sep 2013

Researchers pinpoint ways to counter effects of antibiotics-driven depletion of gut-dwelling bacteria

A new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine could help pinpoint ways to counter the effects of the antibiotics-driven depletion of friendly, gut-dwelling bacteria.

2 Sep 2013

Texas A&M University biologist receives federal grant to study Clostridium difficile

A Texas A&M University biologist has received a federal grant to study the fecal samples of hundreds of people to better understand the gut bacteria Clostridium difficile - the cause of some 14,000 deaths a year in America - and to help lay the basic science foundation to develop drugs to combat its deadly results.

30 Aug 2013

Review Article examines FMT methodology as effective treatment for C. difficile infection

Fecal microbiota transplantation has emerged as a highly effective treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, with very early experience suggesting that it may also play a role in treating other gastrointestinal and non-GI diseases.

23 Aug 2013

Three winners announced for biomedical engineering design competition in DEBUT challenge

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13 Aug 2013

Probiotic supplements have no effect on the incidence of diarrhoea in elderly patients

Probiotic supplements given to elderly patients on antibiotics appear to have no effect on the incidence of diarrhoea, a common and sometimes life-threatening side effect of using antibiotics for many elderly patients, according to a new study published in The Lancet.

9 Aug 2013

Decatur Memorial Hospital installs germ-zapping robots to kill bugs

As hospitals across the nation look for new and innovative ways to battle deadly pathogens and kill multi-drug resistant organisms that put patients at risk, Decatur Memorial Hospital (DMH) has taken a leap into the future with the installation of two germ-zapping robots that eliminate hard-to-kill bugs in hard-to-clean places.

3 Aug 2013

Jersey Shore hospital participates in clinical study of investigational vaccine for prevention of CDI

Mark Martens, M.D., chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, announces that the hospital is participating in a clinical study to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of an investigational vaccine for the prevention of primary symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).