Recent Advances in Clostridioides difficile Infection
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 3412
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of antibiotic-related diarrhea and healthcare-associated infections, as well as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality affecting especially elderly hospitalized patients. Over the past few decades, the incidence, morbidity and mortality associated with CDIs have increased.
Diagnosis of CDI is often difficult and usually based on a clinical history of recent antimicrobial usage and diarrhea in combination with appropriate laboratory tests. Laboratory diagnosis is essential for the detection of toxigenic strains.
CDI’s high recurrence rates, spore generation and antimicrobial resistance are currently significant challenges for the development of new strategies to manage the infection. Antibiotics disrupt the indigenous gut flora, therefore creating an environment that is favorable for recurrent CDI. The restriction of exposure to ‘high-risk’ antibiotics through antibiotic stewardship programs is a potential method for preventing CDIs.
Within the current treatment landscape, antibiotics such as fidaxomicin and vancomycin are still first-line treatments for CDI, but their effectiveness is limited, and novel microbiota-based therapeutic approaches are currently significant challenges to combat the infection.
This Special Issue aims to collect high-quality research articles, review articles and short communications related to various aspects of Clostridioides difficile infection: bacteria–host interactions, pathogenesis, virulence factors, epidemiology, diagnostic procedures, therapy and prevention.
We encourage researchers from relevant fields to contribute papers highlighting the latest updates on Clostridioides difficile infection or invite relevant experts and colleagues to do so.
Dr. Melina K. Kachrimanidou
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Clostridioides difficile infection
- healthcare-associated infection
- CDI treatment
- virulence factors
- pathogenesis
- host interactions
- antibiotic resistance
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