High-risk medication use for Clostridium difficile infection among hospitalized patients with cancer

Abstract

Patients with cancer are vulnerable to Clostridium difficile infection (CDI); hospitals with larger oncology populations may have worse CDI performance. Among 71 academic hospitals studied, there were significant differences in oncology patient-days per 1,000 admissions across CDI standardized infection ratio categories of better, no different, and worse; worse hospitals had the greatest number of patient-days. Oncology patients' most commonly used high-risk CDI medications were quinolones, third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, and proton pump inhibitors.