Relationship between faecal metronidazole and lactoferrin concentrations to clinical response of patients with Clostridioides difficile.

Saunders, Maria; Jeffery, Jinny; Vincent, Zoe; Ayling, Ruth M.; Lewis, Stephen

Objectives: We investigated patients with Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhoea to see if clinical resolution correlated with faecal concentrations of metronidazole or markers of inflammation. Methods: Faecal metronidazole, lactoferrin and serum CRP were measured daily. These were then compared with clinical progress. Results: Metronidazole concentration correlated with lactoferrin (ρ = 0.17, p = 0.015), CRP (ρ = 0.23, p < 0.001) and number of diarrhoeal stools per day (ρ = 0.29, p < 0.001). Lactoferrin correlated with CRP (ρ = 0.57, p < 0.001) and the number of diarrhoeal stools per day (ρ = 0.52, p < 0.001) as did CRP (ρ = 0.52, p < 0.001). Conclusions: We found no association between cessation of diarrhoea and metronidazole or lactoferrin concentrations. There was a relationship between metronidazole concentrations and markers of inflammation and stool frequency.

METRONIDAZOLE; DIARRHEA; LACTOFERRIN; DEFECATION; INFLAMMATION; FECES; SERUM

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2020, Vol 39, Issue 9, p1781

0934-9723

Academic Journal

10.1007/s10096-020-03895-8