Clostridium Difficile Infection Surveillance Research Articles

Surveillance of Clostridium difficile infection during the period 2008-2009 in Rho hospital

Clostridium difficile is a Gram positive bacillus, anaerobic, sporogenous, with oro-faecal transmission. The formation of the spores can persist in a long time, encouraging the transmission. Diarrhoea is the most common symptom but abdominal pain and fever may also occur. The most common risk factors are: use of broad spectrum antibiotics, medications, advanced age and chemotherapy. The probability of contracting an infection is proportional to the duration of hospitalization in patients infected. It is important to practice good hygiene in order to reduce the risk because the hospital staff is the principal vehicle of transmission. From January 2008 up to December 2009 we examined a total amount of 532 samples. Our results showed during the year 2008, 48 positive on 293 samples (16.4%) and during the year 2009, 27 positive on 239 ones (11.3%).

Surveillance for Clostridium difficile Infection: ICD-9 Coding Has Poor Sensitivity Compared to Laboratory Diagnosis in Hospital Patients, Singapore

Introduction Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is an increasingly recognized nosocomial infection in Singapore. Surveillance methods include laboratory reporting of Clostridium difficile toxin assays (CDTA) or use of International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) discharge code 008.45. Previous US studies showed good correlation between CDTA and ICD-9 codes. However, the use of ICD-9 codes for CDI surveillance has not been validated in other healthcare settings.MethodsWe compared CDI rates based on CDTA to ICD-9 codes for all discharges in 2007 from our hospital to determine sensitivity and specificity of ICD-9 codes. Demographic and hospitalization data were analyzed to determine predictors for missing ICD-9 codes.ResultsDuring 2007, there were 56,352 discharges. Of these, 268 tested CDTA-positive but only 133 were assigned the CDI ICD-9 code. A total of 141 discharges had the ICD-9 code; 8 were CDTA-negative, the rest were CDTA-positive. Community-acquired CDI accounted for only 3.2% of cases. The sensitivity and specificity of ICD-9 codes compared to CDTA were 49.6% and 100% respectively. Concordance between CDTA and ICD-9 codes was 0.649 (p<.001). Comparing concordant patients (CDTA+/ICD9+) to discordant patients (CDTA+/ICD9−), concordant patients were more likely to be over 50 years of age (OR 3.49, 95% CI 1.66–7.34, p = .001) and have shorter time from admission to testing (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.99, p = .009).DiscussionUnlike previous studies in the US, ICD-9 codes substantially underestimate CDI in Singapore compared to microbiological data. Older patients with shorter time to testing were less likely to have missing ICD-9 codes.

Contribution of a government target to controlling Clostridium difficile in the NHS in England

The introduction of mandatory surveillance of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in 2004 showed the scale of the challenge: cases in patients >64 years old reached 55,681 in 2006. The first type 027 outbreaks had been in 2005 and CDI was a headline issue. The prevention and control of CDI requires a tripartite partnership between clinicians, health service managers, and the government/Department of Health which needs to set standards, ensure that CDI is a priority, set targets and monitor outcome. Government can also legislate; the Health Act 2006 introduced a statutory Code of Practice for infection prevention and control for the NHS and extended to all independent health and care settings in 2010. In 2008, a national target was set for a 30% reduction in CDI by 2010–11 (baseline 2007–8). It was population-based and set a standard (ceiling) rate/10,000 in each area, within which acute hospitals had a target/1000 admissions (diagnosed after day 3). In the first year (2008–9), a 35% reduction was achieved from 55,499 to 36,079 cases in all ages and in 2009–10 the total was 25,604, a 54% reduction from 2007–8. However, in 2009, cases >64 years old were 29% down from 2008 but only 9% down in the 2–64 year old group; also, by this stage, cases in acute hospitals and in other settings were almost equal. Death certification showing CDI fell for the first time in 2008 and in 2009 there were 3550 total mentions (7816 in 2007) of which 1510 (42%) were as underlying cause (3875, 49%, in 2007). The reductions in CDI have been achieved by a raft of measures. Crucially, the targets focused management emphasis on infection prevention and control. This was supported by enhanced surveillance. Clinical practice protocols were implemented through the high impact interventions (care bundle) approach, and there was a major emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene (particularly hand washing for clinical staff and environmental cleaning and disinfection in patient areas). Achievement of the target is not the end of the road; it is to be transformed into an objective (benchmark) for 2011 and beyond based on median rates to maintain pressure for reduction.

Use of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision Clinical Modification Codes and Medication Use Data to Identify Nosocomial Clostridium difficile Infection

The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is used for surveillance of CDI. However, the ICD-9-CM code alone cannot separate nosocomial cases from cases acquired outside the institution. The purpose of this study was to determine whether combining the ICD-9-CM code with medication treatment data for CDI in hospitalized patients could enable us to distinguish between patients with nosocomial CDI and patients who were admitted with CDI. The primary objective was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of using the combination of ICD-9-CM code for CDI and CDI treatment records to identify cases of nosocomial CDI with the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of using the ICD-9-CM code alone. Validation sample cross-sectional study. Academic health center. Administrative claims data from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, were queried to identify adults discharged with an ICD-9-CM code for CDI and to find documentation of CDI therapy with oral vancomycin or metronidazole. Laboratory and medical records were queried to identify symptomatic CDI toxin-positive adult patients with nosocomial CDI and were compared with records of patients whose cases were predicted to be nosocomial by means of ICD-9-CM code and CDI therapy data. Of 23,920 adult patients discharged from the hospital, 62 had nosocomial CDI according to symptoms and toxin assay. The sensitivity of the ICD-9-CM code alone for identifying nosocomial CDI was 96.8%, the specificity was 99.6%, the positive predictive value was 40.8%, and the negative predictive value was 100%. When CDI drug therapy was included with the ICD-9-CM code, the sensitivity ranged from 58.1% to 85.5%, specificity was virtually unchanged, and the range in positive predictive value was 37.9%-80.0%. Combining the ICD-9-CM code for CDI with drug therapy information increased the positive predictive value for nosocomial CDI but decreased the sensitivity.

Nation-wide prospective surveillance of Clostridium difficile infections in hospitals in Belgium, July 2007-June 2008

We report here baseline data from the first year of compulsory surveillance of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) in hospitals in Belgium. Between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008, 2,704 CDI were reported: 12% were recurrent and 66% were hospital-associated (half of which occurred 15 days or more after admission). CDI was considered the cause of death (direct or indirect) for 10% of the episodes. The median incidence of CDI was 1.5 per 1,000 admissions and 1.9 per 10,000 hospital-days for all cases, and 0.9 per 1,000 admissions, and 1.1 per 10,000 hospital-days for hospital-associated cases. Further investigation of risk stratification by average length of stay in the reporting hospitals is warranted as a way to improve the comparability of indicators across hospitals and surveillance systems. In spite of methodological issues, the surveillance of CDI in Belgian hospitals has been able to produce robust baseline data that should allow monitoring of trends at hospital and national level, and provide a basis for international comparisons. Remaining challenges are to define and monitor targets for the control of CDI, and to improve the individual feed-back of data at hospital level.

Infection control practices related to Clostridium difficile infection in acute care hospitals in Canada

We carried out a survey to identify the infection prevention and control practices in place in Canadian hospitals participating in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP). An infection prevention and control practices survey was sent to CNISP hospitals at the beginning of November 2004, the same time that CNISP started a 6-month prospective surveillance for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) to evaluate their infection prevention and control measures and laboratory methods for C difficile. A total of 33 hospitals completed and returned the survey. Infection control precautions were initiated in 18 hospitals (55%) due to the presence of a symptomatic patient before the C difficile laboratory tests were available. All of the hospitals used gloves and gowns as additional precautions. Twenty-three hospitals (70%) tested liquid stools based on a clinician's order, and 8 (24%) tested all liquid stools submitted whether of not C difficile testing was requested. The hospitals used 1 of 3 different products as a standard hospital-wide disinfectant; 24 (73%) used a quaternary ammonium compound, 8 (24%) used accelerated hydrogen peroxide, and 1 (3%) used a hypochlorite solution (1:10 bleach solution). Although the hospitals used contact precautions quite uniformly, considerable variation was seen among hospitals in terms of testing strategies, cleaning and disinfection protocols and products, and isolation practices. The timing for the initiation of infection control precautions is important to prevent secondary transmission of CDI. Most of the hospitals implemented precautions while waiting for the toxin assay results.