[Mild spontaneous course of a case of pseudomembranous colitis. Case report and literature review].

Pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium difficile is described in the literature as a severe diarrheal disease with a high mortality rate. A case which tends to absolve PMC from this reputation is reported involving an outpatient who developed well documented PMC subsequent to ampicillin therapy but required no treatment. The number of unreported cases of antibiotic-associated colitis with and without pseudomembrane formation is probably very high, since only severe cases of diarrhea are thoroughly investigated. In a chronological literature review an attempt is made to update the nomenclature of antibiotic-associated colitis. There are recent reports of a connection between the Clostridium difficile toxin and the chronic inflammatory "non-bacterial" intestinal diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The authors finally consider whether in cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea efforts should be made to isolate Clostridium difficile and/or demonstrate the presence of its toxin, for the purposes of prognosis and therapy.