HPSC guidelines for the surveillance, diagnosis and management of C. difficile

‘Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of infectious nosocomial diarrhoea in industrialised
countries. It is a spore-forming anaerobic bacterium that is widely distributed in soil and the
intestinal tracts of animals and is part of the normal gastrointestinal flora in up to 3% of healthy
adults, up to 20% of adults on antimicrobial therapy and up to 90% of healthy newborns and
infants. The incidence of C. difficile colonisation increases with the duration of hospital stay in
adult in-patients. Gastrointestinal tract colonisation occurs via the faecal-oral route following
environmental exposure to C. difficile spores or from contact with an infected person. The spectrum
of C. difficile infection (CDI) ranges from mild diarrhoea to potentially fatal colitis. Antimicrobials
predispose to CDI by disturbing the normal colonic microbiota permitting growth of C. difficile.’

To access HPSC guidelines for the surveillance, diagnosis and management of C. difficile, please follow the button below.

For further clinical practice guidelines by the IDSA and SHEA are provided in the link below:

– 2021 Focused Update Guidelines on Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Adults