Final answer:
Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive bacterium that causes severe diarrhea. It overgrows when the normal gut bacteria are disrupted by antibiotics and produces toxins that lead to cell death. Risk factors for C. difficile infection include immunocompromised status, extended healthcare settings, recent antibiotic use, and proton pump inhibitor use.
Step-by-step explanation:
Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium that causes severe diarrhea. It is a commensal bacterium that is part of the normal microbiota in healthy individuals. However, when the normal microbiota is disrupted by long-term antibiotic use, C. difficile can overgrow and cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
This bacterium produces two toxins, Clostridium difficile toxin A (TcdA) and Clostridium difficile toxin B (TcdB), which inactivate proteins in cells and lead to cell death. The infection can progress to pseudomembranous colitis, with symptoms such as watery diarrhea, dehydration, fever, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain.
Patients who are immunocompromised, have been in healthcare settings for extended periods, are older, have recently taken antibiotics, have had gastrointestinal procedures done, or use proton pump inhibitors are at a greater risk of C. difficile infection. C. difficile can also be associated with necrotizing enterocolitis in premature babies and neutropenic enterocolitis associated with cancer therapies.