Clostridium difficile infection in a patient with Crohn disease

Abstract

Crohn disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder, which is rare in pediatric patients. The definite etiology and mechanism to induce an acute exacerbation of Crohn disease remains mostly unknown. The authors report on a 14-year-old girl with Crohn disease who has acute gastrointestinal symptoms caused by toxin A-producing Clostridium difficile, which mimicked a flare-up of Crohn disease. There was no preceding antibiotic prescription before the episode. The disease activity did not improve after steroid treatment, which is unusual for Crohn disease. However, all symptoms were dramatically relieved after eradication of C difficile, and led to a symptom-free period for more than 3 years. This case report aims to address the unusual presentation of a usual pathogen, C difficile, in a pediatric patient with Crohn disease.

Keywords

• children
• Clostridium difficile
• Crohn disease
• inflammatory bowel disease