PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Tobias Welte
TI  - A case series of fidaxomicin for treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in lung transplant (LTx) recipients
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P3312
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3312.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3312.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - Introduction:Post-operative bacterial infections are common in LTx recipients. Antibiotic therapies are often administered for prolonged periods and, consequently, CDI is a known complication in these patients. Fidaxomicin (FDX) is approved for treatment of CDI and clinical trials show FDX to be non-inferior to vancomycin in clinical cure and superior in preventing recurrent CDI. This case series presents first experience with FDX in a German LTx follow-up clinic.Methods: Hannover has the largest LTx program in Europe with more than 140 transplants performed each year. In this study, 27 CDI episodes in LTx patients were prospectively recorded from 2005–2013 Metronidazole (MET) 500 mg tid or vancomycin (VAN) 250 mg qid was used as initial therapy. In recurrent CDI, the VAN dose was increased to 500 mg and, since 2012, FDX 200 mg bid has been used.Results:11 cases (40%) of recurrent CDI were observed. One patient died from intra-abdominal sepsis. Five cases of FDX treatment were recorded. In all FDX cases, symptoms ceased within 7 days and no further CDI was reported. No significant adverse events were observed.Discussion:CDI is an important risk factor in patients after LTx due to frequent antibiotic therapy. FDX is an effective treatment option for LTx patients with recurrent CDI.View this table:FDX therapy for CDI