- Kenny Lin, MD, MPH
The cover article of AFP's March 15th issue, "Common Questions About Clostridium Difficile Infection," reviews truths about a disease that is a direct consequence of medicine's good intentions: antibiotic use, both appropriate and inappropriate. A recent Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) addressed the magnitude of the latter by demonstrating that broad-spectrum antibiotics are up to three times as likely to be used in some hospitals compared to others. Additional analyses concluded that 37 percent of prescriptions for intravenous vancomycin and antibiotics for urinary tract infections were not supported by diagnostic testing or documentation of symptoms.
The CDC estimated that reducing the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics by 30 percent could eliminate more than 1 in 4 Clostridium difficile infections. CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH outlines seven steps for hospitals to improve accountability and monitoring of antibiotic prescribing in the video below.
Increasingly, Clostridium difficile infections are occurring in outpatient as well as inpatient settings. A study published in Pediatrics revealed that 71% of laboratory-confirmed Clostridium difficile infections identified by a U.S. population-based surveillance system from 2010 to 2011 were community-acquired, with the highest incidence among children 3 years of age or younger.
According to the AFP review article by Dr. Bradford Winslow and colleagues, many Clostridium difficile infections can be prevented by minimizing the frequency and duration of antibiotic prescriptions; practicing hand hygiene and adhering to contact precautions; and prescribing probiotics to patients who are taking antibiotics for infections.
