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antibiotic-associated enterocolitis
a type associated with antibiotic therapy, most commonly with lincomycin or clindamycin, but also with other broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as ampicillin and tetracycline. It can range from mild nonspecific colitis and diarrhea to severe fulminant pseudomembranous enterocolitis with profuse watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. The inflammation may be caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium difficile, a microorganism that is normally present in the resident bowel flora of infants, but is rarely found in adults. Presumably,
the disruption of the normal flora allows the growth of C. difficile. Called also antibiotic-associated colitis.
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