RT Book, Section A1 Valiquette, Louis A1 Quach, Caroline A2 Shah, Samir S. A2 Kemper, Alex R. A2 Ratner, Adam J. SR Print(0) ID 1157322348 T1 Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea and Clostridium difficile Infection T2 Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Essentials for Practice, 2e YR 2019 FD 2019 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259861536 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1157322348 RD 2024/03/28 AB Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD), unexplained diarrhea occurring with the administration of antibiotics, is a common complication of antimicrobial therapy for which several underlying mechanisms have been proposed: (1) disturbance of the normal intestinal flora, (2) allergic or toxic effects of the drug on the intestinal mucosa, (3) pharmacologic effects on motility, and (4) overgrowth of toxin-producing Clostridium difficile.C. difficile infection (CDI) develops almost exclusively in the setting of antimicrobial use and is associated with a wide spectrum of symptoms, from mild diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis, and in some cases toxic megacolon and death.1 Pseudomembranous colitis, characterized by severe inflammation of the inner lining of the colon with the formation of pseudomembranous material, is usually caused by CDI. Other toxin-producing pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus,Clostridium perfringens, and Klebsiella oxytoca, have been associated with AAD, but they remain infrequent.2