Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
Medical condition
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Related on Lably
Through Antibiotic, Pathogen and Gastrointestinal tract
Cause
Clostridioides difficile, also known more commonly as C. diff, accounts for 10 to 20% of antibiotic-associated diarrhea cases, because the antibiotics administered for the treatment of certain disease processes such as inflammatory colitis also inadvertently kill a large portion of the gut flora, the normal flora that is usually present within the bowel. With this lower level of "healthy" bacteria present, the overgrowth of C. diff is then responsible "for elaborating the enterotoxin".
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Treatment
Meta-analyses have concluded that probiotics may protect against antibiotic-associated diarrhea in both children and adults. Evidence is insufficient, however, regarding an effect on rates of C. difficile colitis.
The efficacy of probiotic AAD prevention is dependent on the probiotic strain(s) used and on the dosage. Up to a 50% reduction of AAD occurrences has been found.