Why Does Clostridium difficile Infection Reccur?
Unfortunately, about 20% of patients with C. difficile infection have a reccurence of the infection after they finish a course of appropriate treatment – even if they are not exposed to more antibiotic therapy. There does not appear to be any relationship between recurrence and the severity of the original infection or the treatment used. It does seem that recurrent disease is slightly more common in older women, kidney disease, and chemotherapy. Of course, taking antibiotics for another infection will increase the risk of reccurence. Most affected are adults, but recurrent C. difficile has been reported in children. The major risk factor of reccurent infection, however, is a prior reccurence. After the first recurrence about half of the patients continue to have repeated episodes often over a period of years. Recurrent disease can be caused by germination of residual C. difficile spores that are not killed and remain in your colon after treatment. Reinfection with a new strain of C. d
