Clostridium difficile infections increase hospital costs by 40 percent for each case, and also put patients at higher risk for readmission and longer lengths of stay, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.
"In the last 15 years, C. diff hospitalizations have increased by more than 200 percent," said Glenn Magee, lead author of the study. "Although it's commonly known that C. diff contributes to high costs and less than ideal outcomes, this study is the first to provide a complete look at how much of an impact it has on U.S. hospitals and patients."
The study, conducted by Premier, involved analyzing patient discharges between January 2009 and December 2011 from the Premier Healthcare Database, examining length of stay, total inpatient costs, readmissions and inpatient mortality associated with C. diff-associated diarrhea.
The results showed that patients with C. diff, when compared to patients without, experienced:
- A 77 percent higher chance of being readmitted within 30 days
- A 55 percent longer hospital stay
- A 13 percent higher risk of mortality
Additionally, Premier found C. diff contributed to a 40 percent increase in cost per case, with an average of $7,285 in additional costs.
"This research highlights an infection that providers should be paying extra attention to in order to keep patients safe and avoid unnecessary costs, including payment penalties," said Gina Pugliese, RN, vice president of the Premier Safety Institute.
According to Ms. Pugliese, some tactics to avoid C. diff infections include instituting antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, optimizing clinical surveillance analytics to track infections and sharing best practices.