Is Clostridium difficile infection a real threat in patients with ulcerative colitis? A prospective, multicenter study in Korea.
- Author:
Dae Bum KIM
1
;
Kang Moon LEE
;
Sang Hyoung PARK
;
You Sun KIM
;
Eun Soo KIM
;
Jun LEE
;
Sung Ae JUNG
;
Geom Seog SEO
;
Ji Min LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Multicenter Study ; Original Article
- Keywords: Colitis, ulcerative; Clostridium infections; Prevalence; Polymerase chain reaction
- MeSH: Clostridium difficile*; Clostridium Infections; Clostridium*; Colectomy; Colitis, Ulcerative*; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous; Hospitals, Teaching; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Korea*; Length of Stay; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Prospective Studies*; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sigmoidoscopy; Ulcer*
- From:Intestinal Research 2018;16(2):267-272
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has been reported to be a cause of flare-ups in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). We evaluated the prevalence and clinical outcomes of CDI in patients with UC hospitalized for flare-ups. METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter study including 7 academic teaching hospitals in Korea. All consecutive patients with UC admitted for disease flare-up were enrolled. We detected the presence of CDI by using enzyme immunoassay, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for toxin genes, and sigmoidoscopy. RESULTS: Eighty-one consecutive patients with UC were enrolled from January 2014 to December 2015. Among 81 patients, 8 (9.9%) were diagnosed with CDI. Most of the cases were identified by RT-PCR. Enzyme immunoassay was positive in 3 of 8 patients, and only 1 had typical endoscopic findings of pseudomembranous colitis. There were no differences in demographic data, length of hospital stay, or colectomy rate between patients with and without CDI. CONCLUSIONS: CDI was not a rare cause of flare-up in patients with UC in Korea. However, CDI did not appear to affect the course of UC flare-up in Korean patients. RT-PCR was sensitive in detecting CDI and can be considered a diagnostic tool in patients with UC flare-up.
