Healthcare Facility-associated Clostridium Difficile Infection Research Articles

Factors associated with an outbreak of hospital-onset, healthcare facility-associated Clostridium difficile infection (HO-HCFA CDI) in a Mexican tertiary care hospital: A case-control study.

ObjectiveTo identify clinical and environmental factors associated with an outbreak of hospital-onset, healthcare facility-associated Clostridium difficile infection (HO-HCFA CDI).DesignCase-control study.SettingPublic, acute care, academic tertiary referral center in Mexico.PatientsAdults hospitalized ≥48 hours between January 2015 and December 2016 were included. Cases were patients with a first episode of HO-HCFA CDI. Controls were patients with any other diagnosis; they were randomly selected from the hospital discharge database and matched in a 1:2 manner according to the date of diagnosis of case ± 10 days. Variables with p<0.1 were considered for multivariable analysis.ResultsOne hundred and fifty-five cases and 310 controls were included. Variables independently associated with HO-HCFA CDI were: exposure to both ciprofloxacin and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) within the last 3 months (OR = 8.07, 95% CI = 1.70–38.16), febrile neutropenia (OR = 4.61, 95% CI = 1.37–15.46), intraabdominal infection (OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 0.95–4.46), referral from other hospitals (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 0.98–4.05) and an increasing number of antibiotics previously used (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.13–1.46).ConclusionsMultiple factors were found to be associated with the first episode of HO-HCFA CDI in the setting of an outbreak; of the modifiable risk factors, prior exposure to both ciprofloxacin and PPI was the most important. Referral from other hospitals was an environmental risk factor that deserves further study.

Economic Burden of Clostridium difficile Infection in European Countries.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains a considerable challenge to health care systems worldwide. Although CDI represents a significant burden on healthcare systems in Europe, few studies have attempted to estimate the consumption of resources associated with CDI in Europe. The reported extra costs attributable to CDI vary widely according to the definitions, design, and methodologies used, making comparisons difficult to perform. In this chapter, the economic burden of healthcare facility-associated CDI in Europe will be assessed, as will other less explored areas such as the economic burden of recurrent CDI, community-acquired CDI, pediatric CDI, and CDI in outbreaks.

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.

External validation of predictive scores for mortality following Clostridium difficile infection

BackgroundThe burden of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has increased in the last decade, with more adverse outcomes and related mortality. Although many predictive scores were developed, few were validated and their performances were sub-optimal. We conducted an external validation study of predictive scores or models for mortality in CDI.MethodsPublished predictive tools were identified through a systematic review. We included those reporting at least an internal validation approach. A multicenter prospective cohort of 1380 adults with confirmed CDI enrolled in two Canadian provinces was used for external validation. Most cases were elderly (median age 71), had a healthcare facility-associated CDI (90%), and 52% were infected by NAP1/BI/027 strains. All-cause 30-day death occurred in 12% of patients. The performance of each scoring system was analyzed using individual primary outcomes.ResultsWe identified two scores which performances (95% CI) are shown in the table. Both had low sensitivity and PPV, moderate specificity and NPV, and similar AUC/ROC (0.66 vs. 0.77 in the derivation cohort, and 0.69 vs. 0.75 respectively). One predictive model for 30 days all-cause mortality (Archbald-Pannone 2015, including Charlson score, WBC, BUN, diagnosis in ICU, and delirium*) was associated with only 5% increase in odds of death (crude OR = 1.05 (1.03–1.06)) with an AUC of 0.74 (0.7–0.8).Study, outcome (%)Predictors (assigned points)Cutoff/ max scoreSen %Spe %PPV %NPV %LR +Accuracy %Kassam 2016 In hospital CDI-related mortality (18%)Age (2–4) ICU admission (5) Acute renal failure* (3) Diabetes (-1) Cardiopulmonary disease* (1) Liver disease (2) IBD (2) Malignancy (2)≥6 patients/1944 (37–51)79 77–82)31 26–37)87 84–89)2.1 2–2.2)73 70-76)Butt 2013 30-day all-cause mortality (12%)Serum albumin ≤ 24.5 g/L (1) CRP > 228 mg/L (1) WBC > 12 and/or respiratory rate > 17/minute (1)≥2 patients/356 46–64)77 74–80)25 20–30)93 (90–94)2.4 2.3–2.5)74 (71–77) *Modified to match available data in validation cohort.ConclusionThe predictive models of CDI mortality evaluated in our study have limitations in their methods and showed moderate performances in a validation cohort consisting of a majority of CDI caused by NAP1 strains. An accurate predictive tool is needed to guide clinicians in the management of CDI to prevent adverse outcomes.Disclosures J. Powis, Merck: Grant Investigator, Research grant; GSK: Grant Investigator, Research grant; Roche: Grant Investigator, Research grant; Synthetic Biologicals: Investigator, Research grant

Real-Time Electronic Tracking of Diarrheal Episodes and Laxative Therapy Enables Verification of Clostridium difficile Clinical Testing Criteria and Reduction of Clostridium difficile Infection Rates.

Health care-onset health care facility-associated Clostridium difficile infection (HO-CDI) is overdiagnosed for several reasons, including the high prevalence of C. difficile colonization and the inability of hospitals to limit testing to patients with clinically significant diarrhea. We conducted a quasiexperimental study from 22 June 2015 to 30 June 2016 on consecutive inpatients with C. difficile test orders at an academic hospital. Real-time electronic patient data tracking was used by the laboratory to enforce testing criteria (defined as the presence of diarrhea [≥3 unformed stools in 24 h] and absence of laxative intake in the prior 48 h). Outcome measures included C. difficile test utilization, HO-CDI incidence, oral vancomycin utilization, and clinical complications. During the intervention, 7.1% (164) and 9.1% (211) of 2,321 C. difficile test orders were canceled due to absence of diarrhea and receipt of laxative therapy, respectively. C. difficile test utilization decreased upon implementation from an average of 208.8 tests to 143.0 tests per 10,000 patient-days (P < 0.001). HO-CDI incidence rate decreased from an average of 13.0 cases to 9.7 cases per 10,000 patient-days (P = 0.008). Oral vancomycin days of therapy decreased from an average of 13.8 days to 9.4 days per 1,000 patient-days (P = 0.009). Clinical complication rates were not significantly different in patients with 375 canceled orders compared with 869 episodes with diarrhea but negative C. difficile results. Real-time electronic clinical data tracking is an effective tool for verification of C. difficile clinical testing criteria and safe reduction of inflated HO-CDI rates.

Healthcare Facility-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection in Hospitalized Patients Receiving Intravenous Beta-Lactam Antibiotics in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VHA)

Healthcare Facility-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection in Hospitalized Patients Receiving Intravenous Beta-Lactam Antibiotics in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VHA)

Clinical and Microbiologic Assessment of Cases of Pediatric Community-associated Clostridium difficile Infection Reveals Opportunities for Improved Testing Decisions.

Most children with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) experience community onset of CDI symptoms. We retrospectively compared hospital-onset healthcare facility-associated CDI cases to community-associated (CA) CDI cases diagnosed by Cepheid Xpert tcdB polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at an academic children's hospital over a 1-year period. Saved stools from CDI cases additionally underwent anaerobic stool culture and multiplex gastrointestinal pathogen PCR testing. Compared with 25 hospital-onset healthcare facility-associated CDI cases, the 74 CA-CDI cases were more frequently <2 years old (18% vs. 0%, P = 0.034) and less frequently had antibiotic exposure in the past 30 days (26% vs. 88%, P < 0.0001), proton pump inhibitor exposure (16% vs. 36%, P = 0.036) or a gastrostomy tube (11% vs. 32%, P = 0.013). Among children diagnosed with CA-CDI, 19 (26%) had no identified CDI risk factors (immunocompromised; gastrostomy tube; recent antibiotic, proton pump inhibitor or inpatient/outpatient healthcare exposures). Clinical testing for viral pathogens was uncommon among children thought to have CA-CDI. Multiplex PCR testing of saved stool samples failed to identify C. difficile among 23% of cases diagnosed with CA-CDI by the Cepheid Xpert tcdB PCR assay. CDI antibiotic therapy was provided to nearly all patients testing positive by tcdB PCR irrespective of CDI risk factors. Many children diagnosed with CA-CDI by PCR lack CDI risk factors and have discordant results when additional CDI testing methods are performed, suggesting overdiagnosis of CDI in children with community-onset diarrhea. More selective CDI testing of low-risk pediatric patients is needed to more accurately diagnose CDI and limit unnecessary CDI antibiotic treatment in children.

Healthcare Facility-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

Healthcare Facility-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

Impact of Change to Molecular Testing for Clostridium difficile Infection on Healthcare Facility–Associated Incidence Rates

Change from nonmolecular to molecular testing techniques is thought to contribute to the increasing trend in incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI); however the degree of effect attributed to this versus other time-related epidemiologic factors is unclear. We compared the relative change in incidence rate (IRR) of healthcare facility-associated (HCFA) CDI among hospitals in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network before and after the date of switch from nonmolecular tests to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using prospectively collected surveillance data from July 2009 to December 2011. Data from 10 hospitals that switched and 22 control hospitals were included. Individual hospital estimates were determined using Poisson regression. We used an interrupted time series approach to develop a Poisson mixed-effects model. Additional regression adjustments were made for clustering and proportion of intensive care unit patient-days. The variable for PCR was treated as a fixed effect; other modeled variables were random effects. For those hospitals that switched to PCR, mean incidence rate of HCFA CDI before the switch was 6.0 CDIs per 10,000 patient-days compared with 9.6 CDIs per 10,000 patient-days after the switch. Estimates of hospital-specific IRR that compared after the switch with before the switch ranged from 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32-2.44) to 6.91 (95% CI, 1.12-42.54). After adjustment in the mixed-effects model, the overall IRR comparing CDI incidence after the switch to before the switch was 1.56 (95% CI, 1.28-1.90). Time-trend variables did not reach statistical significance. Hospitals that switched from nonmolecular to molecular tests experienced an approximate 56% increase in the rate of HCFA CDI after testing change.