Toxigenicity and antimicrobial susceptibility ofClostridium difficile, a cause of antimicrobial agent-associated colitis

Clostridium difficilein general practice and community health

“…The isolation rates of 3-6 and 3-7 % in groups 3 and 4 respectively were only slightly higher than the figure of 3 % quoted as the carriage rate in normal population studies (George, Sutter & Finegold, 1978). However, in a previous study we found a much lower isolation rate of 0.8 % in patients with an appropriate history, which suggested that the carriage rate of C. difficile may have been less than 3 % (Bowman & Riley, 1984).…”

Cytotoxin Production by Clostridium sordellii Strains

“…difficile (I, 2, 6, 7, 15, 16). Although this indicates that C. sordellii might produce cytotoxin, none of the C. sordellii strains tested so far has produced the toxin (4,7,8,17). In the present study, however, the authors demonstrated that 19 out of 21 lethal toxin-positive strains of C. sordellii were also cytotoxigenic.…”

“…The authors employed brain heart infusion medium supplemented with 0.2% Na2HP04 for cytotoxin production and baby hamster kidney (BHK-21jWI-2) cells for the tissue culture; the BHK cell line has not been used by others who tested the cytotoxigenicity ofC. sordellii (4,7,8,17).…”

“…The cytotoxicity of this organism can be readily neutralized by Clostridium sordellii antitoxins (1, 2,6,7,15,16). Since this observation indicated the possibility that C. sordellii might produce the cytotoxin, some studies on the cytotoxigenicity of C. sordellii have been performed but the results showed that no C. sordellii strain tested exhibited cytotoxicity (4,7,8,17).…”

Intestinal Disease and the Urban Environment

“…Antibiotic-associated colitis is particularly associated with lincomycin and clindamycin and is characterized by severe diarrhea with pseudomembranous placques, confluent pseudomembranes, and/or diffuse hemorrhagic colitis (1). The etiologic organism appears to be Clostridium difficile, which produces an enterotoxin causing the secretory diarrhea (2)(3)(4).…”