In U.S. hospitals, infections from C. difficile nearly doubled from 2001 to 2010 without improvements in mortality rates or lengths of stay, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers from The University of Texas College of Pharmacy analyzed data from 2.2 million C. diff infection cases. They found rates of C. diff infections among hospitalized adults rose from 4.5 to 8.2 infections per 1,000 total adult hospital discharges in that 10-year span.
According to researchers, the increased use of antibiotics contributed to the increase in C. diff infections. "Antibiotic exposure remains the most important risk factor for CDI," said Kelly Reveles, PharmD, PhD, lead study author.
Researchers identified 2008 as the peak of CDI infections, and rates then took a slight decline through 2010. This could be tied to the increased use of antibiotic stewardship programs in hospitals, Dr. Reveles said.
C. diff is the most common bacteria responsible for healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals, and it is linked to 14,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"To make headway against CDI, hospitals and health facilities need to get serious about antibiotic stewardship," said Jennie Mayfield, BSN, MPH, the 2014 president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Hospitals have already made headway: A 2013 survey from APIC found 60 percent of U.S. hospitals had an antibiotic stewardship program, up from 52 percent in 2010.