Bloom and bust: intestinal microbiota dynamics in response to hospital exposures and Clostridium difficile colonization or infection

Abstract

This study underscores the detrimental impact of antibiotics as well as other medications, particularly laxatives, on the intestinal microbiota and suggests that co-colonization with key bacterial taxa may prevent C. difficile overgrowth or the transition from asymptomatic C. difficile colonization to CDI.