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Clostridium difficile in Children: A Review of Existing and Recently Uncovered Evidence

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Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children IX

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 764))

Abstract

The clinical significance of the presence of Clostridium difficile in children’s faeces remains uncertain using current diagnostic procedures. Clostridium difficile is a relatively common finding in infants with no symptoms of gastrointestinal disease, suggesting it may be an incidental finding and form part of the normal gut micro-flora in this age group. On the other hand, particularly in older children or those with significant co-morbidity, there are examples where C. difficile causes disease and exerts considerable morbidity and even mortality (C. difficile infection, CDI). Between these extremes lie a substantial group of children who have both diarrhoea and C. difficile in their stools but where the nature of the association is not clear: Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD). We review the significance of C. difficile in children presenting recently uncovered paediatric data from a large UK epidemiological study that informs some key unanswered questions.

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Acknowledgements

This review was carried out as part of OM’s UK National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Academic Foundation placement at the University of Southampton and was supported by the University of Southampton NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF). SNF and MT were funded by the UK NIHR via the NIHR WTCRF and and NIHR Clinical Lectureship respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academic Unit of Clinical & Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK

    Oliver Morris & Saul N. Faust

  2. Academic Unit of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK

    Marc Tebruegge

  3. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK

    Ann Pallett

  4. Health Protection Agency, Southampton, UK

    Steve M. Green

  5. Department of Advanced Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Andrew D. Pearson

  6. Academic Unit of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton and Health Protection Agency, Southampton, UK

    Andrew Tuck & Stuart C. Clarke

  7. Academic Unit of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Paul Roderick

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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saul N. Faust .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Children's Hospital, Dept. Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Flemington Road, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia

    Nigel Curtis

  2. Institute of Child Life and Health, UBHT Education Centre, University of Bristol, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS28AE, UK

    Adam Finn

  3. University of Oxford, Level 4,John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK

    Andrew J. Pollard

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Morris, O. et al. (2013). Clostridium difficile in Children: A Review of Existing and Recently Uncovered Evidence. In: Curtis, N., Finn, A., Pollard, A. (eds) Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children IX. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 764. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4726-9_4

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