Pseudomembranous Colitis

A healthcare provider will listen to your symptoms and ask you questions about your health history. They might order various tests to look for the cause of your symptoms, including blood tests, imaging tests and poop tests. They’ll look for signs of infection or inflammation and other red flags.

They’ll test your poop for evidence of C. diff infection. If they find it, they’ll start your treatment for it right away. They might not have any reason to look inside your colon for evidence of pseudomembranes unless you have complications or you aren’t responding to the treatment.

Sometimes, signs of pseudomembranous colitis show up on an imaging test (radiology). Your provider might see a pattern in the images that suggests severe colitis or damage to the mucosa, such as the “thumbprint sign” or the “accordion sign.” This might prompt further investigation.

To investigate further, the next step would be to look inside your colon for the cause of your symptoms. The exam to look inside your colon is called a colonoscopy. If your provider finds pseudomembranes during a colonoscopy, they’ll take a tissue sample (biopsy) and send it to a lab to confirm it.