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When patients with Clostridium difficile colitis do not respond to usual treatment with metronidazole or vancomycin, clinicians are left with a small collection of alternatives, ranging from the anecdotal (binding resins) to the impractical (fecal transplant) to the unavailable (vaccination). But when patients have severe disease — as defined by several clinical parameters including leukocytosis, fever, and renal impairment — quickly finding an effective treatment can be lifesaving.
European researchers have noted that tigecycline (Tygacil), a broad-spectrum antibiotic recently FDA-approved for skin, soft tissue, and intra-abdominal infections, has excellent in vitro activity against C. difficile. Now, they report success using tigecycline t…