Clostridium difficile caused nearly half a million infections in U.S. patients in 2011, and C. diff infections kill roughly 15,000 Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Highlighted below are seven recent stories, studies and findings on the deadly drug-resistant bacteria.
1. Leukemia patients at high risk for C. diff infections, study finds
Hospitalized leukemia patients have more than twice the risk of developing a Clostridium difficile infection than non-leukemia patients in the hospital, and when they do get a C. diff infection, it is associated with increased mortality, longer length of stay and higher hospital charges.
2. Giving nonaggressive C. diff to recovered patients reduces risk of C. diff recurrence
When patients who recovered from C. diff infection after treatment with antibiotics are given a strain of nonaggressive C. diff, it reduces CDI recurrence, according to a study in JAMA.
3. Where are C. diff rates highest in the US?
Over the last 10 years, rates of C. diff infections were highest in the Northeast region of the U.S. However, C. diff mortality was highest in the Midwest, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.
4. Hospitals aren't doing all they can to prevent C. diff infections, survey finds
A survey of nearly 400 hospitals found that nearly half are not taking key steps to prevent C. diff infections in their patients.
5. Fecal transplants are more effective at treating C. diff than previously thought
Fecal transplants are more successful at treating C. diff infections than researchers previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Microbiome, a finding that could have implications on regulations of fecal transplants.
6. C. diff infections increase readmissions, lengths of stay
Patients who develop C. diff infections are twice as likely to be readmitted to the hospital as patients who don't have C. diff, a study in the American Journal of Infection Control found.
7. Study identifies predictors of asymptomatic C. diff colonization
There are several risk factors healthcare providers can identify upon patient admission to predict asymptomatic C. diff colonization, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.