SAN FRANCISCO — Treatment with fidaxomicin led to higher overall cure rates among children who were infected with Clostridoides difficile compared with treatment with vancomycin, according to research presented at IDWeek.

“The antibiotic-associated Clostridoides (formerly Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) can a cause severe illness, prolonged hospitalization, and even contribute to risk of mortality in both children and adults,” Joshua Wolf, MBBS, assistant member of the infectious diseases department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, told Infectious Diseases in Children. “Treatment with standard therapy of vancomycin or metronidazole is usually successful initially, but recurrence of infection is very common, especially if additional antibiotic courses are required. Although fidaxomicin, a novel macrocyclic antibiotic, is known to be associated with superior outcomes for treatment of CDI, mostly by reducing recurrent infection, little was known about the safety and efficacy of this drug in children.”