CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE ASSOCIATED DIARRHEA IN AN ADULTS HOSPITAL. A DESCRIPTIVE STUDYA study was performed to know the epidemiological features of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Cases were detected by a citotoxin A immunoassay applied to stool samples. Twenty seven patients with 31 episodes of C. difficile associated diarrhea were identified during a 4 month period of passive surveillance. Most of the affected patients were female (62.9%), older than 65 years (77.7%) and had gastrointestinal procedures or medications. All the patients were pre exposed to antibiotics, mainly ciprofloxacin (40.7%), Three patients died (11%), but only one of them by a cause directly related to C. difficile infection. Failure to oral metronidazol therapy was registered in 25.9% of the patients and 3 other relapsed during follow-up (11%). Infection rates according to 100 discharged patients were higher in recuperative neurosurgical wards and in the intermediate medical care unit.