Extended spectrum cephalosporins and Clostridium difficile

Abstract

There is little information about how commonly the newer cephalosporins cause diarrhoea due to Clostridium difficile. In this study of 111 patients with C. difficile-associated diarrhoea, 106 had received antimicrobial agents in the four weeks before detection of C. difficile. The relative risk for each antimicrobial agent was greatest with clindamycin, followed by cefotaxime, cephamandole and ceftriaxone. There was no statistically significant difference in risk between the cephalosporins evaluated. Narrower spectrum penicillins, anti-pseudomonal penicillins and aminoglycosides were not potent inciting agents.