Abstract
BackgroundClostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a major nosocomial pathogen that infects the human gut and can cause diarrheal disease. A dominant risk factor is antibiotic treatment that disrupts the normal gut microbiota. The aim of the study was to examine the correlation between antibiotic treatment received prior to C. difficile infection (CDI) onset and patient gut microbiota.MethodsStool samples were collected from patients with CDI, presenting at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Israel. Demographic and clinical information, including previous antibiotic treatments, was collected from patient charts, and CDI severity score was calculated. Bacteria were isolated from stool samples, and gut microbiome was analyzed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform and QIIME2.ResultsIn total, 84 patients with CDI were enrolled in the study; all had received antibiotics prior to disease onset. Due to comorbidities, 46 patients (55%) had received more than one class of antibiotics. The most common class of antibiotics used was cephalosporins (n = 44 cases). The intestinal microbiota of the patients was not uniform and was mainly dominated by Proteobacteria. Differences in intestinal microbiome were influenced by the different combinations of antibiotics that the patients had received (p = 0.022)ConclusionsThe number of different antibiotics administered has a major impact on the CDI patients gut microbiome, mainly on bacterial richness.
Highlights
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic bacterium that is a member of the Firmicutes phylum
The current study examined the correlation between gut bacterial composition of C. difficile infection (CDI) patients and antibiotic treatment received prior to infection onset
The gut microbiome of patients who had received four different antibiotics classes, demonstrated significantly lower richness and diversity compared to patients who received fewer than four different antibiotics classes
Summary
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a Gram-positive, obligate anaerobic bacterium that is a member of the Firmicutes phylum. Its highly resistant spores survive on surfaces for long periods, rendering it highly transmissible from person to person. This occurs mainly in hospitalization facilities, categorizing C. difficile infection (CDI) as a nosocomial infection [1]. This bacterium can colonize the gut asymptomatically, potentially leading to a “silent” onward transmission [2]. Opportunistic pathogens are primarily blunted by activation of the immune system [6] This colonization resistance is altered by antibiotics; bacterial. The aim of the study was to examine the correlation between antibiotic treatment received prior to C. difficile infection (CDI) onset and patient gut microbiota
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