Patients hospitalized with Clostridium difficile infection experience high rates of 30-day readmission, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study of data from the 2013 Nationwide Readmissions Database. They examined patients with a primary diagnosis of C. diff and rehospitalization within 30 days.
Of 38,409 patients admitted to a hospital with a primary diagnosis of C. diff, 21 percent were readmitted within 30 days, which represents one-in-five C. diff patients. Of those readmitted within 30 days, 27 percent were readmitted with a primary diagnosis of C. diff. Infections accounted for 47 percent of all readmissions.
The following factors increased a patient's likelihood of being readmitted with C. diff:
• Female sex (12 percent)
• Anemia/coagulation defects (13 percent)
• Renal failure/electrolyte abnormalities (15 percent)
• Discharge to home (36 percent)