A Pragmatic Trial of Secondary Prophylaxis With Bezlotoxumab to Prevent C. Difficile Relapse Among Hospitalized Adults Receiving Antibiotics.

Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is a germ (bacteria) that causes life-threatening diarrhea. It is usually a side-effect of taking antibiotics that affect the normal balance of bacteria in the intestines. When the "good bacteria" in the intestine are killed by antibiotics, the C.diff bacteria begin to grow and produce toxins, causing frequent diarrhea and other symptoms such as abdominal pain or tenderness, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, nausea and vomiting. C. diff can be treated by using special antibiotics, but it tends to come back in about 20% of patients. C-diff is problematic because of frequent relapses after apparent cure. The greatest risk factor for relapse is receipt of subsequent antibiotics, in the hospital, shortly after being treated.

Zinplava™(bezlotoxumab) is an FDA approved human monoclonal antibody designed to prevent the recurrence of C.diff.This is not an antibiotic, as it does not kill C. diff, but is an antibody to C. diff toxins, which stops the damage. When Bezlotoxumab is given during a C. diff infection together with antibiotics to kill C. diff, it decreases the risk that C. diff will come back by about one-half. Bezlotoxumab is approved for use when given during a C. diff infection, but it has not been used to prevent C diff in other situations, such as the one being studied in this research.