Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

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Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

Introduction

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea refers to diarrhea that develops in a person who is taking or recently took antibiotics. One of the most common causes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea is infection with a bacterium, Clostridium difficile. Clostridium difficile infections are most common in people who are hospitalized.

Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that is normally found, along with hundreds of thousands of other bacteria, in the intestines of healthy people. Many of these bacteria have a role in protecting the body from infection. Taking antibiotics can kill these "good" bacteria, allowing Clostridium difficile to multiply and release toxins that ...