Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Risk for Clostridium Difficile Recurrence

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that can lead to symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. Patients with IBD are at increased risk for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a bacterial infection that can cause severe diarrhea and other complications.

CDI is treated with antibiotics, but recurrence rates are high, with up to 30% of patients experiencing a recurrence. Some studies have suggested that patients with IBD are at increased risk for recurrent CDI. The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but it may be due in part to changes in the gut microbiome caused by IBD.

There is some evidence to suggest that a gluten-free diet may be beneficial for patients with IBD. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and some people with IBD may have a sensitivity to it. However, the evidence is not strong enough to recommend a gluten-free diet as a treatment for IBD or to prevent CDI recurrence.

Patients with IBD who have recurrent CDI may benefit from a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), a procedure in which fecal matter from a healthy donor is transplanted into the patient’s colon to restore healthy gut bacteria. FMT has been shown to be highly effective in treating recurrent CDI in patients with and without IBD.