1. Severe Clostridium difficile-associated colitis in young patients with cystic fibrosis
- Author
-
Arie Augarten, Joseph Rivlin, Eitan Kerem, Aaron Lerner, Michael Wilschanski, and Moshe Ephros
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pancreatic disease ,Cystic Fibrosis ,Fulminant ,Cystic fibrosis ,Gastroenterology ,Fatal Outcome ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Leukocytosis ,Colitis ,Child ,Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous ,business.industry ,Respiratory disease ,Clostridium difficile ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,Diarrhea ,Child, Preschool ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Mutation ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
We report four patients with cystic fibrosis and fulminant Clostridium difficile-associated colitis: two died, and one required hemicolectomy. Three of four patients carried the N1303K mutation. Severe and fatal C. difficile colitis can occur in cystic fibrosis patients, possibly with a genotype-specific predilection (i.e., N1303K/other). Because cystic fibrosis patients may have a wide spectrum of gastrointestinal symptoms, disease caused by C. difficile must be considered when these patients have acute abdominal pain, diarrhea, or severe leukocytosis.
- Published
- 1998