Previous antibiotic exposure and chronic liver disease are risk factors for recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection, according to a study published in Anaerobe.
Researchers studied epidemiological, clinical, microbiological and laboratory data from patients with recurrent CDI due to relapse or reinfection over five years and compared them to a control group. Of 60 patients with recurrent CDI, 63.9 percent suffered from relapse and 36.1 percent from reinfection.
Researchers found previous antibiotic exposure was a risk factor for recurrent CDI. Patients suffering from relapse had previous antibiotic exposure more frequently than patients with reinfection.
They also found patients with reinfection suffered more frequently from chronic liver disease than relapse patients did.
Additionally, sporulation and germination frequency of the recurrent CDI group were higher than the control group.