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Updated: Aug 15, 2025

A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection
Published on: June 15, 2018
Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Sequelae of Asymptomatic Clostridioides difficile Colonization in Children with Cystic
Seth A Reasoner1, Irtiqa F Fazili2, Rachel Bernard3
1Division of Molecular Pathogenesis, Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States of America.
Abstract:
Patients with CF (pwCF) have high antibiotic use and an altered intestinal microbiome, known risk factors for infection with Clostridioides difficile. However, in adults with CF, C. difficile infection (CDI) is uncommon and asymptomatic colonization with C. difficile occurs frequently, for reasons that remain unclear. We investigated the rate, risk factors, and sequelae of asymptomatic C. difficile colonization in children with CF (cwCF). We identified that 32% of cwCF were colonized with C. difficile without acute gastrointestinal symptoms. Higher BMI and exposure to specific antibiotic classes (cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and vancomycin) were significantly associated with C. difficile colonization. No children developed symptomatic CDI in 90-days following enrollment.
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