Q. Your column contained a question regarding diarrhea from the antibiotic clindamycin. You advised the writer to see a gastroenterologist.
My family suggests that, in addition, he needs to see an infectious disease doctor to get the proper antibiotics in the dosage needed to control C diff.
We buried our beloved mother on June 24. She contracted severe C diff as a result of a short round of clindamycin. The infection ravaged her body and she died as a consequence. She was 79. Prior to the infection she had been taking only a multivitamin.
A. We are so sorry for your loss. C diff (Clostridium difficile) can cause a dangerous gastrointestinal infection that can be very hard to treat. It is sometimes acquired in the course of a hospital stay.
A black-box warning in the prescribing information alerts physicians that clindamycin, like certain other antibiotics, may disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in the gut and allow C diff to take over and cause potentially fatal diarrhea. The toxins the bacteria produce can make people very sick. That is why we suggest immediate evaluation of diarrhea following clindamycin treatment.
