What is it about?
Clostridium (now Clostridioides) difficile infection, a cause of diarrhoea and colitis often triggered by antibiotics, became much more frequent and severe in many countries over two decades, including among surgical patients. Surgery, especially of the gut, can predispose to the infection, and in severe colitis surgery itself may be needed to save the patient. Existing guidelines did not specifically address surgeons. An international multidisciplinary panel of the World Society of Emergency Surgery prepared evidence-based recommendations for surgical patients, covering prevention and infection control, diagnosis, antibiotic treatment of mild, severe and complicated disease, faecal microbiota transplantation, and the indications and type of surgical intervention, such as colectomy or loop ileostomy.
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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Surgeons are often involved in the most severe cases of C. difficile infection, where timing of surgery can determine survival. These were the first guidelines tailored to surgical patients, providing practical, evidence-based guidance to prevent the infection, treat it appropriately and decide when and how to operate.
Perspectives
C. difficile infection brought me into contact with emergency surgeons early in my career, and contributing to these first WSES guidelines was an important step. It showed me how valuable it is when surgeons and infectious diseases specialists write recommendations together.
Professor Stefano Di Bella
Universita degli Studi di Trieste
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: WSES guidelines for management of Clostridium difficile infection in surgical patients, World Journal of Emergency Surgery, August 2015, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/s13017-015-0033-6.
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