Definition
- Pseudomembranous colitis is a nonspecific pattern of injury resulting from decreased oxygenation, endothelial damage, and impaired blood flow to the mucosa that can be triggered by a number of disease states.
- see Clostridium difficile
Cause
- The disease most commonly results from a serious Clostridium difficile infection
- Chemicals and illicit drugs
- Cocaine
- Glutaraldehyde
- Medications
- Cisplatin
- Cyclosporine A
- Docetaxel
- 5-Fluorouracil
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac, indomethacin)
- Infections
- Clostridium difficile
- Clostridium ramosum
- Cytomegalovirus
- Entamoeba histolytica
- Escherichia coli O157:H7
- Klebsiella oxytoca
- Plesiomonas shigelloides
- Salmonella species
- Schistosoma mansoni
- Shigella species
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Strongyloides stercoralis
- Inflammatory conditions
- Behçet disease
- Collagenous colitis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Ischemic colitis
Colonoscopies of patients with pseudomembranous colitis demonstrate inflamed colonic mucosa characterized by raised yellowish, occasionally hemorrhagic nodules or plaques that congregate into widespread, pseudomembranes on the surface of the colonic mucosa.