Markers of intestinal inflammation, not bacterial burden, correlate with clinical outcomes in Clostridium difficile infection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Clostridium difficile is a leading hospital-acquired infection. Many patients remain symptomatic for several days on appropriate antibiotic therapy. To assess the contribution of ongoing infection vs persistent inflammation, we examined the correlation between fecal cytokine levels, fecal C. difficile burden, and disease outcomes in C. difficile infection (CDI).

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study in Barnes Jewish Hospital between June 2011 and May 2012 of hospitalized adults with CDI. We determined fecal interleukin 8 (IL-8) and lactoferrin protein concentrations by enzyme immunoassay. We used real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure relative fecal IL-8 and CXCL-5 RNA transcript abundances, and quantitative PCR to enumerate C. difficile bu

SUBMITTER: El Feghaly RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3707425 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature