Final answer:
Certain broad-spectrum antibiotics, specifically clindamycin, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones, are linked to a higher risk of C. difficile infection due to their disruption of the gut's microbiota. Contributing factors to infection susceptibility include immune status, healthcare exposure, and use of proton pump inhibitors. Fecal transplants from healthy donors are an effective treatment for severe infections.
Step-by-step explanation:
Clostridium difficile infection (C. diff) is more likely to occur following the use of certain antibiotics, especially those with broad-spectrum activity like clindamycin, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones. These antibiotics disturb the normal gut microbiota, leading to an overgrowth of C. difficile, a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. Factors contributing to susceptibility include being immunocompromised, extended health-care stays, older age, recent antibiotic use, gastrointestinal procedures, and the use of proton pump inhibitors which lower stomach acidity and allow C. difficile proliferation. The bacterium's ability to form endospores enables it to withstand harsh conditions and remain in hospital environments, making it a considerable concern in health-care settings.
Use of antibiotics can erase many beneficial gut bacteria, thereby allowing antibiotic-resistant species like C. difficile to dominate. When C. difficile overgrowth occurs, its toxins, TcdA and TcdB, cause damage to the intestinal lining, leading to conditions such as pseudomembranous colitis, characterized by severe diarrhea, dehydration, fever, and possibly septicemia if the colon is perforated.
Fecal transplants from healthy donors have been used successfully to restore the normal gut microbiota in patients with severe C. difficile infections. Clinical trials continue to verify the safety and effectiveness of this treatment. It's critical to understand that further antibiotic treatment can exacerbate C. difficile infections.