Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: May 25, 2017
[Clostridium difficile infection: epidemiology, disease burden and therapy]
László Gulácsi1, Adrienne Kertész, Irén Kopcsóné Németh
1Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem, Egészség-gazdaságtani és Egészségügyi Technológiaelemzési Kutatóközpont Közszolgálati Tanszék Budapest.
Introduction:
C. difficile causes 25 percent of the antibiotic associated infectious nosocomial diarrhoeas. C. difficile infection is a high-priority problem of public health in each country. The available literature of C. difficile infection's epidemiology and disease burden is limited.
Aim:
Review of the epidemiology, including seasonality and the risk of recurrences, of the disease burden and of the therapy of C. difficile infection.
Method:
Review of the international and Hungarian literature in MEDLINE database using PubMed up to and including 20th of March, 2012.
Results:
The incidence of nosocomial C. difficile associated diarrhoea is 4.1/10 000 patient day. The seasonality of C. difficile infection is unproved. 20 percent of the patients have recurrence after metronidazole or vancomycin treatment, and each recurrence increases the chance of a further one. The cost of C. difficile infection is between 130 and 500 thousand HUF (430 € and 1665 €) in Hungary.
Conclusions:
The importance of C. difficile infection in public health and the associated disease burden are significant. The available data in Hungary are limited, further studies in epidemiology and health economics are required.
Related Concept Videos
Inflammatory Bowel Disease IV: Pharmacological Management
Pharmacologic...
Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Crohn's Disease
Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Antimicrobials as Antidiarrheal Agents
Drugs for Treatment of Diarrhea-Predominant IBS
Two specific drugs used in the treatment are alosetron (Lotronex) and eluxadoline (Viberzi). Alosetron, a 5-HT3 antagonist, works by slowing the movement of stools in the gut, reducing bowel...
Treating Helicobacter pylori in Peptic Ulcers: Antimicrobial Therapy
Inflammatory Bowel Disease IV: Clinical Manifestations
