Thursday February 14, 2008
Alinia(Nitazoxanide) in Clostridium Difficile Colitis

Beside Vancomycin and Flagyl, an adjuvant treatment may be use in C. diff. Colitis with Alinia (Nitazoxanide), 500 mg twice daily. Actually, emerging literature is showing it to be a promising treatment in cases where metronidazole fails to eradicate C.diff.

Nitazoxanide is an FDA approved drug to treat parasitic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It is very widely use as an antiprotozoal agent in pediatric patients with diarrhea. The drug acts by blocking and interfering with anaerobic metabolic pathways, and has been shown to have excellent activity against C. difficile. Limited but postive literature shows its value in C.dif. colitis both as an adjuvant as well as in metronidazole failed C.diff. colitis.




References: click to get abstract/article

1. Clostridium difficile colitis that fails conventional metronidazole therapy: response to nitazoxanide, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2007 59(4):705-710

2. Compassionate Use of Nitazoxanide for the Treatment of Clostridium Difficile Infection - clinicaltrials.gov

3. In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of Nitazoxanide against Clostridium difficile - Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2000 September; 44(9): 2254–2258.

4. Nitazoxanide for the treatment of Clostridium difficile colitis. , Clin Infect Dis. 2006 Aug 15;43 (4):421-7 16838229