Paul Feuerstadt, MD, FACG, AGAF

Paul Feuerstadt, MD, FACG, AGAF, discusses how testing for Clostridioides difficile is recommended for hospitalized patients or outpatients with new-onset, unexplained diarrhea who have risk factors such as recent antibiotic use, hospitalization, or older age, and how empiric treatment should be initiated while awaiting test results if there is high clinical suspension.

The panelist discusses how antibiotics are paradoxically both the primary treatment for Clostridioides difficile infections and a major risk factor for recurrence since they disrupt the protective gut microbiome, which led to the development of alternative therapies like fecal microbiota transplantation to restore microbial balance and prevent reinfection.