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Clostridioides difficile colitis

Colitis pseudomembranosa (Clostridioides difficile) · Kolitida vyvolaná Clostridioides difficile

What it is

Antibiotics wipe out the microbiome and C. diff takes the empty space.

Symptoms & signs

  • Profuse watery diarrhoea after antibiotics
  • cramping
  • fever
  • raised white count
  • toxic megacolon if severe

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Swollen, painful belly with fever, especially if diarrhoea stops
  • call 112 / 911 now Dizziness, fainting or passing little urine
  • see a doctor soon Diarrhoea 3 or more times a day during or after antibiotics
  • see a doctor soon Blood in the stool or fever

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Oral vancomycin or fidaxomicin
  • stop the culprit antibiotic
  • bezlotoxumab (discontinued in 2025)
  • faecal microbiota transplant for recurrence (>85% cure)
  • live biotherapeutics (Rebyota, Vowst) to prevent recurrence — FDA-approved 2022–23

Natural & lifestyle

  • Antibiotic stewardship
  • hand washing with soap (alcohol gel doesn't kill spores)
  • probiotic support during antibiotics

Emerging & experimental

  • C. diff vaccines
  • phage therapy

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Saccharomyces boulardii alongside antibiotics — may prevent recurrence in some mixed evidence
  • Kefir and fermented foods — untested anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes