Friday, December 19, 2014

Ileal pouch infection with C diff

From a recent article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology:

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) following total proctocolectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis has been increasingly recognized over the past 5 years. CDI of the ileal pouch has been recognized in ~10% of symptomatic patients seen at a tertiary referral center for pouch dysfunction. In contrast to colonic CDI in the general population or in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, postoperative antibiotic exposure and the use of immunosuppressive agents or proton pump inhibitors do not appear to be associated with CDI of the pouch. Male gender, recent hospitalization, and presurgery antibiotic use were shown to be risk factors for ileal pouch CDI...Postcolectomy CDI likely represents a spectrum of disease processes, varying from asymptomatic colonization to severe symptomatic infection. CDI should be considered in any patient with an ileal pouch presenting with a change in “normal” symptom pattern or treatment-refractory disease.

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