Enterocolitis is not all that common in adults, and it's more common in infants and young children.
Various types of enterocolitis do exist, and adult cases of enterocolitis are often associated with more specific and less common conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis in the context of chemotherapy or neutropenia, or even food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome.
Clostridium difficile or C. diff enterocolitis is a specific type of enterocolitis that is caused by the C. difficile bacteria, which inflames your large intestine and leads to watery diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.
C. diff enterocolitis is often a complication of antibiotic use which disrupts your normal gut bacteria and allows the C. diff to overgrow and produce toxins.
Taking antibiotics can eliminate the beneficial bacteria in the gut that keep C. diff in check.
And with the protective bacteria gone, C. difficile can also multiply rapidly in your intestines and the bacteria then releases toxins which damage the lining of your intestines and cause inflammation as well as severe symptoms.
Enterocolitis is inflammation of both your small intestine and your large intestine.
Enterocolitis can be caused by several factors, which include antibiotic use, autoimmune disorders, dietary factors and infections.
Common causes of enterocolitis are food allergies, food intolerance, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and bacterial infections like Escherichia coli, Salmonella or viral infections such as rotavirus or parasitic infections like Giardia.
The symptoms of enterocolitis are abdominal pain and cramping, diarrhea that can be bloody, vomiting and nausea, fever, fatigue, bloating and loss of appetite.
Diagnosis of enterocolitis are through physical exams, blood tests, stool tests and trough X rays and CT scans.