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Clostridioides difficile

What is Clostridioides difficile infection?

C. difficile is a Gram-positive, anaerobic, rod-shaped, motile, spore-forming bacterium¹ found throughout the environment including hospitals and other healthcare settings^2,3 and is the most common cause of infectious nosocomial diarrhoea.²

C.difficile can usually only colonise the gut if normal intestinal microbiota is disturbed or absent, a healthy gut flora is protective against colonisation and infection from C. difficile.⁴

Treatment with antibacterial agents can deplete the commensal bacteria that normally colonise the colon.^1,4,5
When this happens, C. difficile bacteria can multiply and produce toxins which cause illness such as diarrhoea and fever. At this point, a person is said to be infected with C. difficile.⁵

Report a side effect

Adverse events should be reported. Reporting forms and information can be found at:

https://www.hpra.ie/report-an-issue/medicines-for-human-use/side-effects

Adverse events should also be reported to Tillotts Pharma UK Ltd on:

Tel: +353 1 2942015

Email: Pvireland@tillotts.com

References
1. Louie TJ, Cannon K, Byrne B et al.(2012) Fidaxomicin Preserves the Intestinal Microbiome During and After Treatment of Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI)
and Reduces Both Toxin Reexpression and Recurrence of CDI; 55(S2): 132–142
2. Cole and Stahl.(2015) Persistent and recurrent Clostridium difficile colitis. Clin Colon Rectal Surg; 28: 65-69
3. Johanesen et al.(2015) Disruption of gut microbiome: Clostridium difficile infection and the threat of antibiotic resistance. Genes; 6: 1347-1360
4. Meehan et al.(2016) Challenges in management of recurrent and refractory Clostridium difficile infection. World J Clin Infect Dis; 6: 28-36
5. McFarland LV. (2005) Alternative treatments for Clostridium difficile disease: what really works? J Med Microbiol; 54: 101-11.

PM-DIF200-IE-00016 | October 2025