C. difficile is an anaerobic gram-positive bacillary organism that mainly causes inflammatory disease within the colon. Although a small percentage of people harbor this organism as a part of their colonic flora, antibiotic use typically precedes illness by eradicating the protective bacterial flora and allowing overgrowth of C. difficile. C. difficile elaborates toxins A and B, which exert pathologic effects. Rarely, C. difficile causes abscesses, bacteremia, soft tissue infections, and septic arthritis.
