ABSTRACT
Pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) was first recognized by J.M. Finney and William Osler in 1893. Rare in the pre-antibiotic era, PMC was primarily associated with colonic, pelvic, or gastric surgery (1). In the 1950s, PMC was linked to antibiotic use; Staphylococcus aureus was frequently isolated from stool cultures in patients with PMC and was its presumed etiology. In the early 1970s, the disease became known as ‘‘clindamycin colitis’’ because of strong linkage to that particular antibiotic. Later in that decade Clostridium difficile proved to be the cause. Since that time, C. difficile infection has been nearly exclusively associated with use of various types of antibiotics and has become a major and growing problem in hospitals worldwide.
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