Building a Better Crystal Ball for Predicting Complications of Clostridium difficile Infection.

The author discusses diagnosis of complications of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Topics discussed include dissemination of closely related fluoroquinolone-resistant strains of C. difficile by various typing methods pulse field gel electrophoresis type 1, restriction endonuclease assay type BI, or polymerase chain reaction ribotype 027 strains, need of new, preventive and therapeutic strategies for diagnosis of CDI, new treatments include oral agents such as vancomycin and fidaxomicin.