Association Between <i>Clostridium innocuum</i> and Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea in Adults and Children: A Cross-sectional Study and Comparative Genomics Analysis

Abstract

C. innocuum was frequently isolated and at a greater frequency in asymptomatic controls than those with AAD. We did not identify strain lineages or accessory genomic elements associated with AAD. These data highlight that differentiating C. innocuum-associated diarrhea from asymptomatic colonization, and differentiating diarrhea caused by C. difficile from C. innocuum, are clinical microbiology challenges that require additional investigation to identify host-specific factors and/or biomarkers that distinguish these conditions.