Community-onset Clostridium Difficile Infection Research Articles

Clostridium Difficile and COVID-19: General Data, Ribotype, Clinical Form, Treatment-Our Experience from the Largest Infectious Diseases Hospital in Western Romania.

Background and Objectives: In Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the clinical manifestations are primarily related to the pulmonary system. Under 10% of cases also develop gastrointestinal events such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Materials and Methods: We conducted an observational, retrospective study in the Infectious Diseases Clinic of “Victor Babes” Hospital, Timis County, in order to assess the incidence, outcome and risk factors for clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in COVID-19 patients. Results: Out of 2065 COVID-19 cases, hospitalized between 1st September 2020 and 30th April 2021, 40 cases of CDI were identified with 32 cases of hospital-onset of CDI and eight cases of community-onset and healthcare-associated CDI. By randomization, polymerase chain reaction ribotyping of Clostridium Difficile was performed in six cases. All the randomized cases tested positive for ribotype 027. The percentage of cases recovered with complications at discharge was higher among COVID-19 patients and CDI (p = 0.001). The in-hospital stay, 36 days versus 28 days, was longer among COVID-19 patients and CDI (p = 0.01). The presence of previous hospitalization (p = 0.004) and administration of antibiotics during the hospital stay, increased the risk of CDI among COVID-19 patients. The mean adjusted CCI at admission was lower among controls (p = 0.01). In two cases, exitus was strictly CDI-related, with one case positive for 027 ribotype. Conclusions: CDI has complicated the outcome of COVID-19 patients, especially for those with comorbidities or previously exposed to the healthcare system. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread, extensive use of antibiotics, clinicians should remain vigilant for possible CDI and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection.

2431. When More is Less – Recognizing More Community-onset Clostridium difficile Infections Helps to Dramatically Lower C diff Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR)

BackgroundIt is essential to recognize the true burden of community-onset (CO) Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hospital, not only because it prevents late recognition of CO CDI as being classified as a hospital-onset (HO) event, but also to assure appropriate contact precautions and therapeutic measures are deployed in a timely fashion. We recognized that our timely diagnosis of CO-CDI was suboptimal and sought to improve early recognition of CO-CDI.MethodsWe developed an automated daily report for all patients during their first 3 days of hospitalization who had loose stools documented in the nursing flow sheets and no stool sample sent to the lab. This report was automatically pushed out to the unit nurse managers, as well as reviewed by the infection preventionists (IP). Nurse managers alerted staff to acquire a stool sample to send to the lab. If stool testing still was not sent at the time of IP review of these symptomatic cases, then the IP called the nurse caring for the patient to encourage that a stool sample be sent ASAP and before the third hospital day was completed.ResultsWe increased early appropriate stool testing for patients with documented loose stools during the first 3 days of hospitalization. Improved early diagnosis and better lab stewardship was associated with a marked increase in CO-CDI (15.6/month in 2015 vs 58.7/month in the last year), as well as a decrease in HO-CDI (22.8/month in 2015 vs 7.4/month last year) (Figure 1). In turn, we saw a remarkable drop in our CDI SIR (2 year pre-intervention SIR = 1.49 vs post-intervention SIR for the last 1.5 years = 0.41) (Figure 2).ConclusionAfter several years of our CDI SIR remaining stubbornly around 1.5, we developed a system of enhanced recognition of patients who had loose stools early in their hospitalization. This aided in better recognition of CDI present on admission, substantially increasing our detection of CO-CDI. We also noted decreases in HO-CDI, presumably secondary to no longer diagnosing patients later in their hospitalization as HO-CDI cases who actually had been admitted with CO-CDI. Better early recognition and isolation of patients with CDI also helped to decrease inadvertent C. difficile transmission in hospital, contributing to decreases in HO-CDI. In turn, we noted a remarkable decrease in our CDI SIR. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

530. The Perfect Storm for Improved Standardized Infection Ratio (SIR)—Recognizing More Community-onset Clostridium difficile Infections Increases the Expected Number of C. difficile Cases While also Helping to Decrease the Actual Observed Number of Hospital Onset C. difficile Cases

BackgroundIt is essential to recognize the true burden of community-onset (CO) Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hospital, not only because it prevents late recognition of CO CDI as being classified as a hospital-onset (HO) event, but also to assure appropriate contact precautions and therapeutic measures are deployed in a timely fashion. We recognized that our timely diagnosis of CO-CDI was suboptimal and sought to improve early recognition of CO-CDI.MethodsWe developed an automated daily report of all patients noted to have loose stools documented in the nursing flow sheets during the first 3 days of hospitalization. This report was automatically forwarded to the nurse manager of the unit, as well as was reviewed daily, Monday–Friday, by the infection preventionists (IP) to determine whether stool testing had been sent on these symptomatic patients. If not, then the IP would call the nurse caring for the patient and encourage that a stool sample be sent ASAP and before the third hospital day was completed.ResultsWith this intervention, we increased early appropriate stool testing for patients with documented loose stools during the first 3 days of hospitalization leading to a marked increase in CO-CDI, as well as a notable decrease in HO-CDI lab ID events (Figure 1). Together, the increased recognition of CO-CDI increased our expected cases/SIR denominator and decreased observed cases/SIR numerator and substantially dropped our CDI SIR from a 2 years preintervention median SIR of 1.47 to 0.95 during the five quarters since the intervention has been in effect.ConclusionAfter several years of our CDI SIR remaining stubbornly around 1.5, we developed a system of enhanced recognition of patients who had loose stools early in their admission. This practice aided better recognition of CDI present on admission, substantially increasing our detection of CO-CDI. We also noted decreases in HO-CDI, in part secondary to no longer diagnosing patients who actually had CO-CDI later in their hospitalization and classifying CO-CDI as HO-CDI cases. In turn, we noted a remarkable decrease in our CDI SIR. Disclosures J. P. Parada, Merck: Speaker’s Bureau, Speaker honorarium. A. Harrington, Biofire: Grant Investigator and Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee, Research grant and Speaker honorarium. Cepheid: Grant Investigator and Speaker’s Bureau, Research grant.

528. Lab Stewardship for Clostridium difficile Testing Improves Appropriate Testing While Decreases Unnecessary Testing and Saves Laboratory Resources While Dramatically Helping to Reduce C diff Standardized Infection Ratios (SIR)

BackgroundUnnecessary testing for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) can be both wasteful and contra productive—retesting the same positive patient after transfer to a new nursing unit will only to confirm the patient has CDI (already known) and likely be classified as a new case of hospital-onset (HO) CDI. Yet, it is also important to recognize community-onset (CO) CDI in hospital, not only because it prevents late recognition of CO CDI as being classified as an HO event, will also to afford appropriate contact precautions and therapeutic measures are instituted in a timely fashion. Laboratory stewardship (LS) can be helpful in improving appropriateness of C. difficile testing.MethodsWe developed 2 CDI testing algorithms. One focused on hospital days 1–3, the other for all C. difficile testing after hospital day 3 (AHD3). The LS quality improvement (QI) project was rolled out in 2 stages. During the first 6 months we focused on improving early detection of CO-CDI, while during the next 6 months a mandatory review of all C. difficile testing orders AHD3 was conducted by a 10 person team. Testing that concurred with the algorithm was approved. Nonapproval was communicated to the care teams. Appeals could be made on a case-by-case basis to the medical director of infection control. Validation audits of nonapproved cases were performed to determine whether testing algorithms were sound.ResultsCO-CDI detection steadily increased over the yearlong LS QI period (average of 6 cases/week at start vs. 12 cases/week at year’s end). During the 6 months of the AHD3 mandatory order review 678 C. difficile orders were placed, 428 (63.1%) were approved, 250 (36.9%) were rejected. Reduced use of laboratory resources is estimated to have saved $14,950. LS and frequent communication with care teams contributed better recognition of CO-CDI, decreased inappropriate repeat testing, avoidance of diagnosing colonized patients as HO-CDI and was associated with a significantly drop our CDI SIR (Figure 1).ConclusionAn algorithm-based guideline for a 2-step LS QI program focused on reviews of all C. difficile orders AFHD3 as well as improving early detection of CO-CDI and was associated with better laboratory resource utilization and markedly decreased C. difficile SIR. Efforts are currently underway to automate much of the review process. Disclosures J. P. Parada, Merck: Speaker’s Bureau, Speaker honorarium. A. Harrington, Biofire: Grant Investigator and Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee, Research grant and Speaker honorarium. Cepheid: Grant Investigator and Speaker’s Bureau, Research grant.

480. Reduction in Clostridium difficile Infection Rates Following a Prevention Collaborative in Orange County, California, 2014–2017

BackgroundThe California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Program and Orange County Health Care Agency convened a Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) prevention collaborative with health care facilities in Orange County (OC) to reduce CDI incidence in the region.MethodsWe invited all 34 hospitals and 76 skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in OC to participate from June 2015 to June 2016. Participants received onsite infection control and antimicrobial stewardship assessments, trainings, and an interfacility transfer communication improvement initiative. We used an interrupted time-series design and segmented regression analysis to evaluate monthly hospital-onset (HO) and community-onset (CO) CDI rates for acute care hospitals (ACH) reporting HAI data to CDPH via the National Healthcare Safety Network. The baseline period included 17 months (January 2014–June 2015) and the collaborative period 28 months (September 2015–December 2017). All OC acute care hospitals were included in the CO-CDI model to account for direct and indirect effects of the collaborative. We included only participating ACH in the HO-CDI model. For informal comparisons, we assessed changes in CO-CDI for ACH in three San Francisco Bay Area counties and HO-CDI rates in nonparticipant OC acute care hospitals.ResultsCollaborative participants comprised 15 ACH, three long-term acute care hospitals, one children’s hospital, and 20 SNF; all but two SNF received an onsite assessment. Unadjusted, baseline pooled mean HO-CDI rates were 8.5 cases per 10,000 patient days for participant ACH, and CO-CDI rates were 4.9 cases per 1,000 admissions in OC acute care hospitals. During the collaborative period, HO-CDI rates in OC participant ACH decreased 2% per month (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96, 0.99; P < 0.001). HO-CDI rates among OC nonparticipant ACH (N = 10) did not change during the same timeframe (IRR: 0.99, 0.96, 1.02; P = 0.37). During the collaborative period, Orange County CO-CDI rates also declined 2% per month (IRR: 0.98, 0.97, 0.99; P < 0.001); no changes in CO-CDI were observed among ACH (N = 27) in the comparison counties (IRR: 1.00, 0.99, 1.01; P = 0.78).ConclusionOur analysis of acute care hospitals in Orange County provides evidence that coordinated, regional multifacility initiatives can reduce CDI incidence.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Outcomes of Community and Healthcare-onset Clostridium difficile Infections.

Community-onset Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are increasingly common, but there is little data on outcomes. The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of CDI in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system and compare these variables between hospital-onset (HCF) and community-onset (CO) cases. We conducted a retrospective cohort study that included all patients with a positive test for C. difficile (toxin or toxin genes) within the VHA Corporate Data Warehouse between 2011 and 2014. We identified 19270 episodes of CDI, involving 15972 unique patients; 95% were male, 44% of the cases were HCF, and 42% were CO. Regarding severity, 31% percent of cases were non-severe, 40% were severe, and 21% were fulminant. Exposure to proton pump inhibitors was found in 53% of cases (47% in CO, 62% in HCF). Overall, 40% of patients received antibiotics in the 90 days before CDI (44% in HCF, 36% in CO). Recurrence was 18.2%, and 30-day all-cause mortality was 9.2%. Risk factors for a fulminant case were exposure to clindamycin (odds ratio [OR]: 1.23, P = .01) or proton pump inhibitors (OR: 1.20, P < .001) in the 90 days prior to diagnosis. CO accounts for a significant proportion of CDI in the VHA system. CO patients are younger and their cases are less severe, but recurrence is more common than in HCF CDI. Therefore CO CDI may account for a considerable reservoir of CDI cases, and prevention efforts should include interventions to reduce CO CDI.

A Nurse-Driven Testing Protocol to Identify Community-Onset Clostridium difficile Infections in Hospitalized Patients

Background: Clostridium difficile is a major cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients. In 2015, all hospital-onset (HO) C. difficile infections (CDI) were reviewed at a single academic tertiary care center. 17% of HO CDI had symptoms prior to admission that met criteria for community-onset (CO) infection. A nurse-driven C. difficile testing protocol was implemented to improve detection of CO CDI and to initiate isolation precautions sooner in an effort to prevent hospital transmission. Here, we assessed the effectiveness and fidelity of a nurse driven protocol (NDP) to identify CO CDI in hospitalized patients at an academic tertiary care center. Methods & Materials: A NDP for CDI testing was created and included the following criteria for testing: 3 or more watery stools within the past 24 hours, no laxative use within the last 24 hours, no alternative explanation for diarrhea and no C. difficile result within the last 7 days. The NDP was implemented hospital wide from January - September 2017, which enabled nursing staff to use an electronic order set for C. difficile testing. Nursing staff received intensive education with a nurse liaison prior to implementation and at several intervals of the study period. Data were collected on the number of C. difficile tests ordered by nursing staff, as well as the result and fidelity of testing. Results: From March - September 2017, nurses ordered 205 tests for C. difficile with 20/205 (10%) test positivity. Of the positive test results, 9/20 (45%) followed the NDP appropriately, 14/20 (70%) met HO criteria, and 8/14 (57%) of the HO cases did not follow the NDP. Conclusion: A C. difficile NDP to identify CO CDI in hospitalized patients at an academic tertiary care center was not as effective as intended. Furthermore, protocol fidelity was low, raising the concern that the protocol may be expanding the problems of over-testing and detection of C. difficile colonization, rather than infection. Further revisions to the protocol are planned to prevent deviations from the ordering criteria.

Risk factors for poor outcome in community-onset Clostridium difficile infection

BackgroundA substantial portion of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) cases occur in communities, and community-onset CDI (CO-CDI) can lead to serious complications including mortality. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for a poor outcome in CO-CDI.MethodsWe performed a retrospective review of all inpatients with CDI, in a 1300-bed tertiary-care hospital in Korea, from 2008 through 2015. CO-CDI was defined as CDI occurring within 48 h of admission. Poor outcome was defined as follows: 1) all-cause 30-day mortality, 2) in-hospital mortality, or 3) surgery due to CDI.ResultsOf a total 1256 CDIs occurring over 8 years, 152 (12.1%) cases were classified as CO-CDI and 23 (15.1%) had a poor outcome, including 22 (14.5%) cases of mortality and 2 (1.3%) cases of surgery. Patients with a poor outcome had a higher mean age than those without a poor outcome (75.8 vs. 69.6 years, p = 0.03). The proportion of men and prior proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use were significantly higher in the poor outcome group (65.2% vs. 41.9%, p = 0.04; 39.1% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.02, respectively). Multivariate binary logistic model showed that PPI use and anemia (hemoglobin < 10 g/dL) at presentation were significantly associated with a poor outcome (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.76; 95% confidence interval [95CI], 1.26–11.21, aOR, 4.67; 95CI, 1.52–14.34, respectively).ConclusionsClinicians should not only be aware of the possibility of CDI in the community setting but also pay more attention to PPI-using elderly patients with anemia in consideration of a poor outcome.

Derivation and Validation of a Clostridium difficile Infection Recurrence Prediction Rule in a National Cohort of Veterans.

Prior studies have identified risk factors for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), but few studies have integrated these factors into a clinical prediction rule that can aid clinical decision-making. The objectives of this study were to derive and validate a CDI recurrence prediction rule to identify patients at risk for first recurrence in a national cohort of veterans. Retrospective cohort study. Veterans Affairs Informatics and Computing Infrastructure. A total of 22,615 adult Veterans Health Administration beneficiaries with first-episode CDI between October 1, 2002, and September 30, 2014; of these patients, 7538 were assigned to the derivation cohort and 15,077 to the validation cohort. A 60-day CDI recurrence prediction rule was created in a derivation cohort using backward logistic regression. Those variables significant at p<0.01 were assigned an integer score proportional to the regression coefficient. The model was then validated in the derivation cohort and a separate validation cohort. Patients were then split into three risk categories, and rates of recurrence were described for each category. The CDI recurrence prediction rule included the following predictor variables with their respective point values: prior third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins (1 point), prior proton pump inhibitors (1 point), prior antidiarrheals (1 point), nonsevere CDI (2 points), and community-onset CDI (3 points). In the derivation cohort, the 60-day CDI recurrence risk for each score ranged from 7.5% (0 points) to 57.9% (8 points). The risk score was strongly correlated with recurrence (R2 =0.94). Patients were split into low-risk (0-2 points), medium-risk (3-5 points), and high-risk (6-8 points) classes and had the following recurrence rates: 8.9%, 20.2%, and 35.0%, respectively. Findings were similar in the validation cohort. Several CDI and patient-specific factors were independently associated with 60-day CDI recurrence risk. When integrated into a clinical prediction rule, higher risk scores and risk classes were strongly correlated with CDI recurrence. This clinical prediction rule can be used by providers to identify patients at high risk for CDI recurrence and help guide preventive strategy decisions, while accounting for clinical judgment.

New Insights into Clostridium difficile (CD) Infection in Latin America: Novel Description of Toxigenic Profiles of Diarrhea-Associated to CD in Bogotá, Colombia.

Clostridium difficile (CD) produces antibiotic associated diarrhea and leads to a broad range of diseases. The source of CD infection (CDI) acquisition and toxigenic profile are factors determining the impact of CD. This study aimed at detecting healthcare facility onset- (HCFO) and community-onset (CO) CDI and describing their toxigenic profiles in Bogotá, Colombia. A total of 217 fecal samples from patients suffering diarrhea were simultaneously submitted to two CDI detection strategies: (i) in vitro culture using selective chromogenic medium (SCM; chromID, bioMérieux), followed verification by colony screening (VCS), and (ii) molecular detection targeting constitutive genes, using two conventional PCR tests (conv.PCR) (conv.16S y conv.gdh) and a quantitative test (qPCR.16s). The CD toxigenic profile identified by any molecular test was described using 6 tests independently for describing PaLoc and CdtLoc organization. High overall CDI frequencies were found by both SCM (52.1%) and conv.PCR (45.6% for conv.16S and 42.4% for conv.gdh), compared to reductions of up to half the frequency by VCS (27.2%) or qPCR.16S (22.6%). Infection frequencies were higher for SCM and conv.16S regarding HCFO but greater for CO concerning conv.gdh, such differences being statistically significant. Heterogeneous toxigenic profiles were found, including amplification with lok1/3 primers simultaneously with other PaLoc markers (tcdA, tcdB or tcdC). These findings correspond the first report regarding the differential detection of CDI using in vitro culture and molecular detection tests in Colombia, the circulation of CD having heterogeneous toxigenic profiles and molecular arrays which could affect the impact of CDI epidemiology.

Shift to community-onset Clostridium difficile infection in the national Veterans Health Administration, 2003-2014

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) occurs frequently in inpatient settings; however, community-onset cases have been reported more frequently in recent years. This study evaluated hospital-onset and community-onset CDI in the national Veterans Health Administration (VHA) population over a 12-year period. This was a retrospective cohort study of all adult VHA beneficiaries with CDI between October 1, 2002, and September 30, 2014. Data were obtained from the Veterans Affairs Informatics and Computing Infrastructure. CDI was categorized into community-associated CDI (CA-CDI); community-onset, health care facility-associated CDI; and health care facility-onset CDI (HCFO-CDI). Each type was described longitudinally and was assessed as an independent risk factor for health outcomes using multivariable logistic regression. Overall, 30,326 patients with a first CDI episode were included. HCFO-CDI was the predominant type (60.2%), followed by CO-HCFA-CDI (20.6%) and CA-CDI (19.2%). The proportion of patients with HCFO-CDI decreased from 73.5% during fiscal year 2003 to 53.2% during fiscal year 2014, whereas CA-CDI increased from 8.3% to 26.7%. HCFO-CDI was a positive predictor of severe CDI (odds ratio [OR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-1.84) and 30-day mortality (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.32-1.61), but a negative predictor of 60-day recurrence (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.37-0.46). HCFO-CDI was the predominant CDI type. The proportion of patients with CA-CDI increased and HCFO-CDI decreased in recent years. Patients with HCFO-CDI experienced higher rates of severe CDI and mortality.

Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients with Community-Onset Clostridium difficile Infection who Tested Positive by EIA Compared with NAAT through a Two-Step Algorithm

BackgroundThe low sensitivity of toxin enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) motivated many laboratories to add nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) to their testing protocol. However, NAAT do not distinguish between colonization and infection, and indiscriminant testing could lead to over treatment of CDI.MethodsActive, population-based CDI surveillance has been conducted through the Emerging Infections Program in Bernalillo County, NM since 2011, with test type collected at the individual level since 2014. Community-onset (CO) CDI cases with a first positive test diagnosed by a two-step algorithm (concurrent EIA/GDH, with discordant results reflexed to NAAT) in 2014–2015 were included. We analyzed clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients EIA positive compared with NAAT positive. Demographics, risk factors, treatment, and outcomes were assessed through medical record review.ResultsAmong 1,063 cases, 559 (52.6%) were EIA positive only and 504 (47.4%) were NAAT positive only. Of those with stool collected as a hospital inpatient, 57% were NAAT positive (P < 0.001); this increased from 43.4% if tested the day of admission to 61.4% when tested on day three. Conversely, 38.6% of patients with stool collected in an emergency department were NAAT positive (P = 0.004). Fewer cases with complicated outcomes were NAAT positive (40.7%, P = 0.023). Among those with no documentation of recent antibiotic use, 64.3% were NAAT positive (P < 0.001), and 67.8% of cases with no CDI treatment were NAAT positive (P = 0.005). Only 28.3% percent of cases with recurrent CDI were initially NAAT positive (P < 0.001).ConclusionEIA negative and NAAT positive CO-CDI cases tended to have a milder clinical presentation than those that were EIA positive. This suggests that some patients positive only by NAAT may have mild CDI or be colonized, rather than infected, with C. difficile. These individuals were less likely to have complicated outcomes, have recent documented antibiotic use, be treated for CDI, or have a recurrent CDI episode than those positive by EIA. Longer hospital stay correlated with increased proportion of testing NAAT positive. Providers may benefit from considering testing protocol and clinical correlation when assessing patients with positive C. difficile test results.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

ASPECTS OF COMMUNITARY-ACQUIRED CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE INFECTION IN DOLJ COUNTY, ROMÂNIA

Long regarded as a hospital-associated and antibiotic use infection, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has seen an increasing incidence as a community-aquired infection over the last decade. Objectives. The paper follows the particularities of CDI with a community onset, depending on the community or nosocomial origin of the infection. Material and method. Three-year retrospective study (July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2017) of 767 confirmed cases with primary CDI, hospitalized in medical units in Dolj county (România). Two groups of patients with community-onset CDI were analyzed: CA-CDI group with community origin of the infection, and NA-CDIc group with nosocomial origin. Results. CDI with community onset was identified in 453 patients (59.1% of the total); of these, 106 (23.4%) had community origin (CA-CDI) and 305 (67.3%) nosocomial (NA-CDIc). CA-CDI has increased from 4.3% (2014) to 17.9% (2017) of the total CDI, with an average of 13.1% for the study period. Compared to hospital acquired CDI, patients with community-acquired infection were younger (median age 57 years vs 65 years), more frequently women (58.4% vs 46.2%), with lower exposure to antibiotics (75.4% vs 85.9%), lower associated immunodepression (4.7% vs 18.6%) and mortality (0.9% vs. 5.5%). Conclusions. CDI epidemiology is dynamic, the actual size of community infection requiring further assessment. CA-CDI should be considered in the investigation of community diarrhea, even in the absence of traditional risk factors (hospitalization, advanced age, antibiotic treatment).

Nosocomial-acquired and community-onset Clostridium difficile infection at an academic hospital in Italy: Epidemiology, recurrences and toxin genes distribution.

Toxinogenic Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of infectious diarrhea. In this retrospective cohort study the molecular epidemiology of hospital-acquired and community-associated CDI was investigated in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital. CD in stools samples was revealed by a two steps diagnostic algorithm, firstly screening for positivity to GDH antigen and thereafter RT-PCR analysis. Increased CDI incidence was observed ranging from 1.70episodes/10000patient-days in the 1st year, to 2.62 in the 2nd year, mostly hospitalized in the medicine wards, followed by outpatients (5.74 and 5.12episodes/10.000patient-days respectively). CDI positive were older than CDI negative patients and presented increased trend of diarrhea episodes as the patients' age increased. RT-PCR positive patients (n°=314) were classified according to the CD toxin producing genes in three groups (1-3, carrying tcdB, both tcdB and cdt, and the two genes plus the deletion Δ117 of tcdC, respectively). The incidence of the group 2 and 3 increased statistically with the age of the patients showing correlation with the gender. Higher frequency of patients belonging to group 1 and group 3 was observed in the medical wards. Of note was the high incidence of group 3 in outpatients. Interestingly, patients with previous health care contacts had higher risk (RR=1.88) of being infected by CD strains with higher toxicity than community patients. Recurrence rate was 15.9%. In conclusion the knowledge of the toxigenic profiles and of their relationships to gender, age and wards distribution may help the clinicians in the clinical management of the disease.

Epidemiological Risk Factors of Clostridium difficile Patients in a Three Campus Regional Health System

BACKGROUND: Many healthcare practitioners seek to better understand patient risk factors when considering testing and implementation of infection prevention initiatives for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Those risk factors may also vary between patients diagnosed with healthcare facility-onset CDI and those with community-onset CDI. To guide appropriate testing for CDI, antimicrobial stewardship activities, and infection prevention efforts, we sought to determine the most common epidemiological risk factors among two classifications of laboratory-identified CDI within our three campus health system.

A population-based matched cohort study examining the mortality and costs of patients with community-onset Clostridium difficile infection identified using emergency department visits and hospital admissions

Few studies have evaluated the mortality or quantified the economic burden of community-onset Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). We estimated the attributable mortality and costs of community-onset CDI. We conducted a population-based matched cohort study. We identified incident subjects with community-onset CDI using health administrative data (emergency department visits and hospital admissions) in Ontario, Canada between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2010. We propensity-score matched each infected subject to one uninfected subject and followed subjects in the cohort until December 31, 2011. We evaluated all-cause mortality and costs (unadjusted and adjusted for survival) from the healthcare payer perspective (2014 Canadian dollars). During our study period, we identified 7,950 infected subjects. The mean age was 63.5 years (standard deviation = 22.0), 62.7% were female, and 45.0% were very high users of the healthcare system. The relative risk for 30-day, 180-day, and 1-year mortality were 7.32 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.94–9.02), 3.55 (95%CI, 3.17–3.97), and 2.59 (95%CI, 2.37–2.83), respectively. Mean attributable cumulative 30-day, 180-day, and 1-year costs (unadjusted for survival) were $7,434 (95%CI, $7,122-$7,762), $12,517 (95%CI, $11,687-$13,366), and $13,217 (95%CI, $12,062-$14,388). Mean attributable cumulative 1-, 2-, and 3-year costs (adjusted for survival) were $10,700 (95%CI, $9,811-$11,645), $13,312 (95%CI, $12,024-$14,682), and $15,812 (95%CI, $14,159-$17,571). Infected subjects had considerably higher risk of all-cause mortality and costs compared with uninfected subjects. This study provides insight on an understudied patient group. Our study findings will facilitate assessment of interventions to prevent community-onset CDI.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Five Competing Strategies for the Management of Multiple Recurrent Community-Onset Clostridium difficile Infection in France.

BackgroundClostridium difficile infection (CDI) is characterized by high rates of recurrence, resulting in substantial health care costs. The aim of this study was to analyze the cost-effectiveness of treatments for the management of second recurrence of community-onset CDI in France.MethodsWe developed a decision-analytic simulation model to compare 5 treatments for the management of second recurrence of community-onset CDI: pulsed-tapered vancomycin, fidaxomicin, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) via colonoscopy, FMT via duodenal infusion, and FMT via enema. The model outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), expressed as cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) among the 5 treatments. ICERs were interpreted using a willingness-to-pay threshold of €32,000/QALY. Uncertainty was evaluated through deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.ResultsThree strategies were on the efficiency frontier: pulsed-tapered vancomycin, FMT via enema, and FMT via colonoscopy, in order of increasing effectiveness. FMT via duodenal infusion and fidaxomicin were dominated (i.e. less effective and costlier) by FMT via colonoscopy and FMT via enema. FMT via enema compared with pulsed-tapered vancomycin had an ICER of €18,092/QALY. The ICER for FMT via colonoscopy versus FMT via enema was €73,653/QALY. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis with 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations showed that FMT via enema was the most cost-effective strategy in 58% of simulations and FMT via colonoscopy was favored in 19% at a willingness-to-pay threshold of €32,000/QALY.ConclusionsFMT via enema is the most cost-effective initial strategy for the management of second recurrence of community-onset CDI at a willingness-to-pay threshold of €32,000/QALY.

Community-onset Clostridium difficile infection at a tertiary medical center in southern Taiwan, 2007-2015.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is well-known as the major cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients. Community-onset CDI (CO-CDI) is an emerging threat. However, clinical information of CO-CDI in Taiwan remains scarce. A retrospective study was conducted at a medical center in southern Taiwan. Symptomatic patients between 2007 and 2015 with C. difficile toxin or tcdB detected in stool were identified as CDI, and were classified as CO-CDI [including community-associated CDI (CA-CDI) and community-onset health care facility-associated CDI (CO-HCFA-CDI)] and health care facility-onset CDI (HCFO-CDI). Of 427 patients, 15 (3.5%) were CA-CDI, 49 (11.5%) CO-HCFA-CDI, and 363 (85.0%) HCFO-CDI. Despite major involvement of the elderly (mean age: 66.1years vs. 69.9years, p=0.46), no significant differences were noted between CA-CDI and CO-HCFA-CDI groups, except that solid organ cancer was more common in the CO-HCFA-CDI group. The CO-CDI group more often presented with abdominal pain but had shorter hospital stays and less exposure of proton-pump inhibitors or broad-spectrum antibiotics than the HCFO-CDI group did. The mortality rate related to CDI was 4.7% (3 patients) in the CO-CDI group. Despite a lower in-hospital mortality rate in the CO-CDI group (10.9% vs. 22.0%; p=0.04), the recurrence rate was similar (10.9% vs. 7.2%; p=0.3). CO-CDI is not common but associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Physicians should put CDI into consideration among patients who present community-onset fever, diarrhea, or abdominal pain alone or in combination.

Body mass index greater than 35 is associated with severe Clostridium difficile infection.

Obesity has been implicated in the acquisition of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI), however, no study has investigated whether there is a correlation between body mass index (BMI) and CDI severity. To determine whether obesity, as measured by BMI correlates with severe hospital-onset or community-onset CDI. Patients admitted with CDI at a tertiary-care center from January 2013 to June 2015 were identified. The cohort was stratified by onset of disease using the National Healthcare Safety Network criteria, and by severity using the 2013 American College of Gastroenterology guidelines. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of severe CDI. A total of 196 met the inclusion criteria, of which 57.1% (112) met criteria for severe disease. Overall, BMI >35 kg/m2 was 1.7-fold more likely to be associated with severe CDI compared to a BMI 20-35 kg/m2 (P < 0.005), and was an independent predictor of severe CDI (P = 0.038). In patients with community-onset-CDI and hospital-onset-CDI, a BMI >35 kg/m2 was associated with a 1.96-fold and 1.48 greater rate of severe CDI compared to a BMI 20-35 kg/m2 (P = 0.004 and 0.048), and was an independent predictor of severe CDI in these cohorts (P = 0.039 and 0.027) respectively. This study has identified an association between body mass index and Clostridium difficile infection severity. A BMI>35 kg/m2 is an independent risk factor for severe community-onset and hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infections.

Initial Therapy for Mild to Moderate Clostridium difficile Infection

Background Oral vancomycin is being increasingly used for treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), although the feasibility for such approach and avoidance of currently recommended oral metronidazole for mild to moderate (mm)-CDI remain uncertain. We sought to assess treatment response in hospitalized patients with mm-CDI at our university medical center. Methods Standard Infectious Diseases Society of America and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America definitions were used. Primary outcomes included rate of treatment response and infection recurrence following therapy. Results Among 513 total cases of CDI between 2011 and 2013, 168 were mm-CDI and were further analyzed. Overall treatment responses to oral vancomycin were 97% versus 82% in patients given metronidazole (P = 0.002). Overall rate of CDI recurrence was 13% following vancomycin versus 9% following metronidazole treatment (P = 0.4). In 85 patients with NAP1 (North American PFGE type 1) CDI, vancomycin and metronidazole yielded similar response (97% vs 98%, P = 0.13), whereas in 83 patients with non-NAP1 CDI, rate of treatment response to vancomycin was higher (98% vs 78% with metronidazole, P = 0.007). In a regression analysis, initial therapy with metronidazole was an independent predictor of treatment failure (odds ratio, 8.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.75–40; P = 0.007) after controlling for hypoalbuminemia (&lt;3 g/dL), concurrent use of proton pump inhibitors, chronic liver disease, community-onset CDI, age older than 65 years, and presence of more than 3 comorbidities. In the subset of 91 patients treated with metronidazole, presence of chronic liver disease (odds ratio, 4.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.19–16.4; P = 0.027) was associated with treatment failure. Conclusions Oral metronidazole therapy for mm-CDI in hospitalized patients might not be optimal and needs further reassessment.