Children using antibiotics and/or proton pump inhibitors face a higher risk of developing Clostridioides difficile infection, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review of studies from the Medline, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase databases. They searched for subject headings and text words related to C. diff and pediatrics from 1975 to 2017. They screened 2,033 articles and found 14 studies involving 10 million-plus children that met the inclusion criteria.
Of the 10 million-plus children, 22,320 developed C. diff infection. They found that prior antibiotic exposure and PPI use were associated with an increased risk of C. diff in children.
However, subgroup analyses using studies reporting only adjusted results showed that prior antibiotic exposure may not be a significant risk factor for C. diff.