A new article published in Frontiers in Medicine reported that rifaximin is a well-tolerated antimicrobial compound and acts by inhibiting bacterial RNA synthesis. Rifaximin is minimally absorbed after oral administration, achieving high colonic concentrations, this drug therefore, has potent activity against Clostridium difficile (CD).

The authors discussed that although rifaximin was introduced for the treatment of traveler’s diarrhea, the drug has also been proposed for treating Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). It has been found that the ability of rifaximin to spare enteric microbiota makes it a potentially useful agent for the prevention of CDI recurrence after a first CDI episode. This result has been reconfirmed by positive outcomes from case series, as well as clinical trials.

Evidence suggests that a 2- to 4-week tapering regimen with rifaximin can effectively prevent multiple CDI recurrences. Hence, it was stated that novel antimicrobial molecules under development for CDI have promising features and benefits in comparison to the traditional anti-CDI antimicrobials and may prove to be potent alternatives in treating CDI.