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Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Metagenomics

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Synonyms

Antibiotic-associated colitis; C. difficile AAD

Definition

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is diarrhea (abnormally frequent intestinal evacuation with more or less fluid stools) that develops within a few hours following antibiotic treatment up to 8 weeks after antibiotic discontinuation.

Introduction

The discovery of antibiotics is one of the most significant scientific achievements to date. Although antibiotics help treat most bacterial infections, they can have short- and/or long-lasting effects on the gastrointestinal tract microbiota depending on the class of antibiotic and the course of treatment. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is a common problem that results in extended hospital stays. The lack of treatment options for patients with refractory and recurrent disease further increases the morbidity and cost of this condition. The incidence of AAD is hard to pinpoint, but it is estimated that between 5 % and 25 % of patients taking antibiotics will develop diarrhea....

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Casey Theriot

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, 1520B MSRB I SPC 5666 1150 W. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5666, USA

    Vincent B. Young

Authors
  1. Casey Theriot
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  2. Vincent B. Young
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Casey Theriot .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), Rockville, Maryland, USA

    Karen E. Nelson

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Theriot, C., Young, V.B. (2014). Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea. In: Nelson, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metagenomics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_64-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_64-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6418-1

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