A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that Clostridium difficile infection was most frequently diagnosed in the emergency department.
Researchers tested a 5,209 cohort of hospitalized adult patients for C. diff infection between May 1, 2011, and Aug. 31, 2016. Of the cohort tested, 1,092 had C. diff.
The study shows the emergency department and prior exposure to a statin, probiotic or high-risk antibiotic (such as a cephalosporin, a quinolone or clindamycin) were independent predictors of C. diff infection.
Probiotic use did not appear to reduce the odds of developing C. diff among patients exposed to high-risk antibiotics; however, moderate-risk antibiotics appeared to significantly reduce the odds of C. diff in patients who received probiotics.