Beschreibung:
<jats:p>During the past decade, the incidence and severity of <jats:italic>Clostridium difficile</jats:italic> infection (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content>) have significantly increased, leading to a rise in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content>‐associated hospitalizations, health care costs, and mortality. Although treatment options exist for <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content>, recurrence is frequent following treatment. Furthermore, patients with at least one <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> recurrence are at an increased risk of developing additional recurrences. A novel approach to the prevention of recurrent <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> is the use of monoclonal antibodies directed against the toxins responsible for <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> as an adjunct to antibiotic treatment. Bezlotoxumab, a human monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes <jats:italic>C. difficile</jats:italic> toxin B, is the first therapeutic agent to receive United States Food and Drug Administration approval for the prevention of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> recurrence. Clinical studies have demonstrated superior efficacy of bezlotoxumab in adults receiving antibiotic therapy for <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> compared with antibiotic therapy alone for the prevention of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> recurrence. Bezlotoxumab was well tolerated in clinical trials, with the most common adverse effects being nausea, vomiting, fatigue, pyrexia, headache, and diarrhea. The demonstrated efficacy, safety, and characteristics of bezlotoxumab present an advance in prevention of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CDI</jats:styled-content> recurrence.</jats:p>