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C. Difficile Infection: A Case Study

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It is very common for patients who receive antibiotic therapy for C. difficile infection to have a recurrence of infection. Mattila states, “Up to 35% of patients experience a symptomatic recurrence after discontinuation of antibiotics for CDI…Subsequent relapses occur in up to 50%-65% of patients” (Mattila et al., 2012, p. 490). These recurrences increase the number of hospital stays, increase potential for the spread of infection and can be dangerous for patients with multiple comorbidities, especially the elderly where we see the highest number of occurrences of C. difficile infection.
Despite the introduction of new medications and therapies such as probiotics and immune therapy to treat CDI, we still see high rates of reoccurrence.

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