Gastroenterology
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Prevention of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a substantial therapeutic challenge. A previous prospective study of 63 patients with CDI identified risk factors associated with recurrence. This study aimed to develop a prediction rule for recurrent CDI using the above derivation cohort and prospectively evaluate the performance of this rule in an independent validation cohort. ⋯ We prospectively derived and validated a clinical prediction rule for recurrent CDI that is simple, reliable, and accurate and can be used to identify high-risk patients most likely to benefit from measures to prevent recurrence.
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Chronic psychological stress is associated with visceral hyperalgesia and increased expression of spinal NK1 receptors (NK1Rs). We aimed to identify the role of spinal microglia in this process. ⋯ This is the first demonstration that stress-induced activation of spinal microglia has a key role in visceral hyperalgesia and associated spinal NK1R up-regulation.