High colonization rate and prolonged shedding of Clostridium difficile in pediatric oncology patients

Clin Infect Dis. 2014 Aug 1;59(3):401-3. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu302. Epub 2014 Apr 29.

Abstract

Surveillance testing for Clostridium difficile among pediatric oncology patients identified stool colonization in 29% of patients without gastrointestinal symptoms and in 55% of patients with prior C. difficile infection (CDI). A high prevalence of C. difficile colonization and diarrhea complicates the diagnosis of CDI in this population.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile; colonization; oncology; pediatric; surveillance.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Bacterial Shedding
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification*
  • Clostridium Infections / complications
  • Clostridium Infections / diagnosis
  • Clostridium Infections / epidemiology*
  • Clostridium Infections / microbiology
  • Diarrhea
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Neoplasms / complications*
  • Pediatrics
  • Prevalence
  • Young Adult