Antibiotic-associated colitis: a persistent clinical problem.

Examination of this series of 19 patients with antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis revealed that most of the patients were given the antibiotics for trivial reasons. Many different antibiotics were identified as being related to the development of colitis. There were three deaths in this series; two of the 15 patients treated medically and one of the four treated surgically. The efficacy of all diagnostic procedures and medical therapies are discussed, and the role of surgery in treating patients with toxic state, sepsis, or perforation is presented.