1986 Volume 60 Issue 6 Pages 608-615
Klebsiella oxytoca was detected from all of the bloddy stool specimens collected froni 11 patients with antibiotic-associated colitis in acute phase and the mean log10 number was 7.1 per gram of feces. The organisms were detected from 5 of 7 formed stool in convalescence with the mean log10 number of 5.5 per gram of feces.
Clostridium difficile was not detected from any of the specimens, while C. difficile enterotoxin was detected from 2 of 10 bloody stool in acute phase. These two cases were diagnosed as antibioticassociated hemorrhagic colitis from clinical features and laboratory findings.
The intestinal microflora of the acute phase showed a striking decrease in the total count and a simplification of bacterial groups as compared to that in the convalescence. In particular, the vaiable counts of the obligate anaerobes showed remarkable decrease so that some members were undetectable.