INTRODUCTION Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is common and frequently more severe in hospitalized elderly adults. It can lead to increased use of healthcare resources. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of a fermented milk (FM) with probiotic in preventing AAD and in particular Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). METHODS Clinical effectiveness data and cost information wer...

Clostridium difficile is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. We report a patient with complicated Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) who developed rapidly progressive acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), for which CDI was the only identifiable source. CDI should be considered in the differential diagnosis for anyone with diarrhea who presents especially in high-risk group...

BACKGROUND The recent increase in the number and severity of cases of nosocomial Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) has prompted interest in the use of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of this disease. We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials to assess the effectiveness of probiotic therapy. METHODS We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, INAHTA, HEN a...

BACKGROUND Acute gastroenteritis and respiratory illnesses are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prescription pattern of antibiotic utilization during the treatment of cough/cold and/or diarrhea in pediatric patients. METHODS A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted for 6 months in pediatric ...

BACKGROUND Synbiotics often are prescribed to limit antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal signs (AAGS) in cats, but data to support this recommendation are lacking. OBJECTIVE To determine whether synbiotic co-administration mitigates AAGS in healthy research cats treated with clindamycin. ANIMALS 16 healthy research cats. METHODS A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 2-way, 2...

Clostridium difficile colonization in pig intestine has been a public health concern. We analyzed C. difficile prevalence among piglets in Japan to clarify their origin and extent of the associated risk by using molecular and microbiological methods for both swine and human clinical isolates and foreign isolates. C. difficile was isolated from 120 neonatal piglet fecal samples. Toxin gene profi...

Probiotics are commonly prescribed as an adjuvant in the treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. We report the case of an immunocompromised 73-year-old patient on chemotherapy who developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii fungemia in a central venous catheter during treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis with the probiotic Saccha...

Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and can be difficult to cure. Most patients with CDI present only colonopathy and in fewer cases extra intestinal features were described such as reactive arthritis (ReA). We present a series of cases with CDI-associated reactive arthritis (CDI-AReA), admitted between 2011-2014 in the National I...

CONTEXT Acute diarrhea is a common cause of hospitalization among children under 5 years of age. Knowing the prevalence and risk factors associated with the severity of acute diarrhea is essential to control morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE Describe the prevalence of demographic, epidemiologic and clinical features of children under 6 years of age hospitalized for acute diarrhea, and invest...

A PCR assay detecting Clostridium difficile toxin B gene in stool specimens was compared to the cytotoxicity assay as the reference standard for the diagnosis of C. difficile antibiotic-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Overall, 118 stool samples were tested. All of the specimens that were negative by the cytotoxicity assay (59 out of 118) were also negative by the PCR method (specificity of 100%). O...