Surgical therapy may be necessary for complicated, fulminant C. difficile infection (CDI):
- Intestinal perforation – rupture of the colon wall (intestinal perforation).
- Severe therapy-refractory courses, especially with ileus (intestinal obstruction) or toxic megacolon – massive dilation (expansion) or enlargement of the colon in the context of inflammation.
Early surgery can reduce the lethality (mortality related to the total number of people suffering from the disease) of complicated CDI! Standard surgery for fulminant, refractory CDI is still subtotal colectomy (not complete surgical removal of the bowel) with terminal ileostomy (artificial bowel outlet).
