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Clostridium difficile Infection

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Emergency General Surgery

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Abstract

Clostridium difficile colitis occurs as a chronic or an acute illness with intensity varying from mild to severe. The surgeon will most often encounter this disease in the acute setting and will need to recognize how to properly assess the patient and when to intervene surgically. We will address in the following chapter the work-up and management of acute Clostridium difficile colitis and the different medical and surgical options available. The standard of surgical care for fulminant Clostridium difficile infection is subtotal colectomy, but the timing of the intervention and emerging surgical alternatives continue to evolve.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Acute Care Surgical Services, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Aela P. Vely

  2. VCU Surgery Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, Richmond, VA, USA

    Paula Ferrada

Authors
  1. Aela P. Vely
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  2. Paula Ferrada
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paula Ferrada .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Carlos V. R. Brown

  2. Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kenji Inaba

  3. Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Matthew J. Martin

  4. Brigham and Womens’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Ali Salim

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Vely, A.P., Ferrada, P. (2019). Clostridium difficile Infection. In: Brown, C., Inaba, K., Martin, M., Salim, A. (eds) Emergency General Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96286-3_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96286-3_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96285-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96286-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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