A study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, examined the drivers of differences in Clostridium difficile infection incidence rate among acute and long-term care facilities.
Researchers conducted a case-cohort study of patients spending at least three days in one of 131 acute care or 120 long-term care facilities between 2006 and 2012. The facilities were managed by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. Researchers included eight patient and five facility factors in analyses.
C. diff incidence in acute care settings was five times that observed in long-term care settings.
Drivers of difference include:
● History of antibiotic use, which was greater in acute care compared to long-term care
● Importation of C. difficile cases, which was three times higher in long-term care as compared to acute care