Drug appears safe in children with C. difficile infections
Early test suggests adult med may work in kids with diarrheal disease
By Nathan Seppa
PHILADELPHIA — The antibiotic fidaxomicin, which is prescribed for adults for Clostridium difficile infections, seems safe for children to take, a study shows.
C. difficile, or C. diff, is a bacterium that releases a toxin that attacks the lining of the intestines, causing colitis and severe diarrhea that can be lethal. Doctors have limited drug options against C. diff. When fidaxomicin was cleared by regulators in 2011 for use in adults, it became the first new drug to tackle C. diff in more than two decades. It is marketed as Dificid by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in Lexington, Mass.