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. 1977 May 14;1(6071):1246–1248. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6071.1246

Undescribed toxin in pseudomembranous colitis.

H E Larson, J V Parry, A B Price, D R Davies, J Dolby, D A Tyrrell
PMCID: PMC1607118  PMID: 861560

Abstract

A girl aged 12 developed pseudomembranous colitis after a short course of oral penicillin. She had no history of adverse reaction to penicillin before or after the illness. No pathogenic bacteria, mycoplasmas, or viruses were found in her faeces, but they did contain a toxin. Toxin was also found in four of five other patients with pseudomembranous colitis but not in six specimens obtained from patients with diarrhoea caused by other disorders. Further studies may show that pseudomembranous colitis is caused by a bacterial toxin.

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Selected References

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