Current Concepts In Clostridium Difficile Infection: A Focus On Recurrent Disease

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 03 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a serious condition that causes disease with a wide spectrum of severity, ranging from mild diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis and death. Recurrent CDI can occur in up to 20% of patients who develop an initial case of CDI.(1) These patients are at increased risk of additional recurrences, as well as more complicated disease, including toxic megacolon, colon perforation, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome with organ failure leading to colectomy or death.

To address the need for education on recurrent CDI, Robert Michael Educational Institute LLC (RMEI) and Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) are jointly sponsoring a 3-part series of complimentary educational newsletters targeted to primary care physicians. Current Concepts in Clostridium difficile Infection: A Focus on Recurrent Disease is the first newsletter of this series.

The Expert Faculty for this continuing education activity include Ciaran P. Kelly, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of Gastroenterology Fellowship Training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Chief of Hermann L. Blumgart Internal Medicine, and Vivian G. Loo, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Chief of the Department of Microbiology at McGill University Health Centre.

Healthcare professionals who treat patients with CDI should take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the management of patients with recurrent CDI.

This continuing education opportunity is jointly sponsored by Robert Michael Educational Institute LLC and Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and is supported by an educational grant from ViroPharma Incorporated.

Robert Michael Educational Institute LLC is a full-service medical education company dedicated to providing comprehensive medical education to healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers. Our mission is to design programs that improve diagnosis and treatment through a variety of educational programming such as national and international symposia, teleconferences, live meetings, enduring print materials, and interactive Internet programs.

For other educational opportunities, please visit http://www.RMEI.com.

(1) McFarland LV, Surawicz CM, Rubin M, et al. Recurrent Clostridium difficile disease: epidemiology and clinical characteristics. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1999;20:43-50.

Robert Michael Educational Institute LLC
http://www.RMEI.com