Clostridium difficile, a spore-forming, gram-positive, anaerobic bacillus, has reemerged to become the leading cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea and a worldwide public health threat.1 Over the past decade, the changing epidemiology of C difficile infection (CDI) has been demonstrated by epidemic outbreaks of drug-resistant, toxin-producing, hypervirulent strains causing severe disease, disease recurrence, and death.2 CDI has placed a huge financial burden on the US health care system, with cost estimates of $3.2 billion annually.3
Much more via Clostridium difficile: A new look at an old but increasingly deadly infection – JAAPA.