Enterocolitis
- The normal flora of the gut is altered by the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
- The stasis that accompanies a lack of peristalsis after abdominal surgery
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Acquisition of organisms that are prevalent *within hospitals*.
These factors increase overgrowth of enteropathogens such as Clostridium difficile (difficulty of growing it in culture) secretes toxins responsible for symptoms that range from mild watery diarrhoea to profound diarrhoea associated with a florid colitis.
The latter is characterised by the presence of creamy fibrinous plaques that coalesce to form a pseudomembrane (pseudomembranous colitis) .
Treatment includes:
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the cessation of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and
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the introduction of either oral metronidazole or oral vancomycin.
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Toxin assays (difficile toxin)are performed on all patients with profuse diarrhoea after surgery.