Abstract
Clostridium difficile infection is widely accepted to be the leading cause of nosocomial infection-related morbidity and mortality, outpacing both antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus and enterococcus. The existence and prevalence of community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection, on the other hand, is much less well appreciated. Growing evidence now suggests that community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection may account for more than a third of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea overall. Similar to nosocomial Clostridium difficile infection, community-acquired cases appear to be increasing in incidence, and although associated mortality is lower than in nosocomial cases, morbidity including hospitalization and recurrence are high. Further, traditional risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection including antibiotic exposure appear to be less important in community-acquired cases and common routes of exposure and infection in the community are yet to be elucidated. In this issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Khanna et al. provide important epidemiological data on the growing threat of community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.