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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Antibiotics can lead to pseudomembranous colitis by disturbing the normal bacterial balance within your colon, which facilitates the colonization and growth of C. difficile or other bacteria. Potent toxins are released when these bacteria become numerous, causing inflammation of your colon.
The most commonly used antibiotics associated with pseudomembranous colitis are fluoroquinolones, penicillins, lincosamides such as clindamycin, and cephalosporins. However, virtually any antibiotic can cause pseudomembranous colitis. Pseudomembranous colitis has also been associated with antibiotics that you may receive before an operation to prevent surgery-related infections.
Although antibiotics are by far the drugs most often associated with the development of pseudomembranous colitis, other so-called antimicrobial medications (such as antiviral or antifungal drugs) may be responsible. In addition, in people with cancer, chemotherapy may sometimes disrupt the bacteria within their intestines and trigger the development of pseudomembranous colitis.
