Nosocomial diarrhea and Clostridium Difficile associated diarrhea in a Turkish University Hospital

Clostridioides difficile epidemiology in the Middle and the Far East

OBJECTIVES

Clostridioides difficile is an important pathogen of healthcare-associated gastrointestinal infections. Recently, an increased number of C. difficile infection (CDI) surveillance data has been reported from Asia. The aim of this review is to summarize the data on the prevalence, distribution and molecular epidemiology of CDI in the Middle and the Far East.

METHODS

Literature was drawn from a search of PubMed up to September 30, 2021.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis of data from 111 studies revealed the pooled CDI prevalence rate in the Middle and the Far East of 12.4% (95% CI 11.4-13.3); 48 studies used PCR for CDI laboratory diagnoses. The predominant types (RT)/sequence type (ST) differ between individual countries (24 studies, 14 countries). Frequently found RTs were 001, 002, 012, 017, 018 and 126; RT017 was predominant in the Far East. The epidemic RT027 was detected in 8 countries (22 studies), but its predominance was reported only in three studies (Israel and Iran). The contamination of vegetable and meat or meat products and/or intestinal carriage of C. difficile in food and companion animals have been reported; the C. difficile RTs/STs identified overlapped with those identified in humans.

CONCLUSIONS

A large number of studies on CDI prevalence in humans from the Middle and the Far East have been published; countries with no available data were identified. The number of studies on C. difficile from non-human sources is limited. Comparative genomic studies of isolates from different sources are needed.

A worldwide systematic review and meta-analysis of bacteria related to antibiotic-associated diarrhea in hospitalized patients

INTRODUCTION

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is a major hospital problem and a common adverse effect of antibiotic treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the most important bacteria that cause AAD in hospitalized patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched using multiple relevant keywords and screening carried out based on inclusion/exclusion criteria from March 2001 to October 2021. The random-effects model was used to conduct the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 7,377 identified articles, 56 met the inclusion criteria. Pooling all studies, the prevalence of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile, Clostridium perfringens, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Staphylococcus aureus as AAD-related bacteria among hospitalized patients were 19.6%, 14.9%, 27%, and 5.2%, respectively. The prevalence of all four bacteria was higher in Europe compared to other continents. The highest resistance of C. difficile was estimated to ciprofloxacin and the lowest resistances were reported to chloramphenicol, vancomycin, and metronidazole. There was no or little data on antibiotic resistance of other bacteria.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study emphasize the need for a surveillance program, as well as timely public and hospital health measures in order to control and treat AAD infections.

Clostridioides difficile infection in liver cirrhosis patients: A population-based study in United States

BACKGROUND

Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) is an increasingly frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Multiple risk factors are documented in the literature that includes, but are not limited to, antibiotics use, advanced age, and gastric acid suppression. Several epidemiological studies have reported an increased incidence of CDI in advanced liver disease patients. Some have also demonstrated a higher prevalence of nosocomial infections in cirrhotic patients.

AIM

To use a large nationwide database, we sought to determine CDI’s risk among liver cirrhosis patients in the United States.

METHODS

We queried a commercial database (Explorys Inc^TM, Cleveland, OH, United States), and obtained an aggregate of electronic health record data from 26 major integrated United States healthcare systems comprising 360 hospitals in the United States from 2018 to 2021. Diagnoses were organized into the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED–CT) hierarchy. Statistical analysis for the multivariable model was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 25, IBM Corp^TM). For all analyses, a two-sided P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

There were a total of 19387760 patients in the database who were above 20 years of age between the years 2018-2021. Of those, 133400 were diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. The prevalence of CDI amongst the liver cirrhosis population was 134.93 per 100.000 vs 19.06 per 100.000 in non-cirrhotic patients (P < 0.0001). The multivariate analysis model uncovered that cirrhotic patients were more likely to develop CDI (OR: 1.857; 95%CI: 1.665-2.113, P < 0.0001) compared to those without any prior history of liver cirrhosis.

CONCLUSION

In this large database study, we uncovered that cirrhotic patients have a significantly higher CDI prevalence than those without cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis may be an independent risk factor for CDI. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify this possible risk association that may lead to the implementation of screening methods in this high-risk population.

Hospital acquired Clostridioides difficile infection and risk factors for severity in a university hospital: A prospective study

BACKGROUND

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a well-known cause of health care-associated diarrhea. Data about CDI epidemiology of Turkey is limited. This study investigates CDI incidence, clinical characteristics, and factors associated with severe CDI in a tertiary care center university hospital.

METHODS

This is a case control study was conducted between 2012 and 2016. We included all patients, 18 years of age or more, with CDI diagnosis. For each patient diagnosed with CDI, information was collected concerning the severity of disease, treatment regimen, treatment response, disease recurrence, 30-day case fatality. Cases defined as severe hospital acquired CDI (HA-CDI) and controls defined as non-severe CDI patients.

RESULTS

We identified 100 cases of HA-CDI out of 111 patients. Total CDI incidence was 1.19/10,000 patient-days. The incidence decreased 32.5% during the study period. We identified severe CDI in 24% of patients. Age and admission to intensive care unit were independent risk factors for severe CDI.

CONCLUSION

This study reports a 5-year prospective epidemiology of CDI in a tertiary care center in Istanbul, Turkey. The findings of this study suggest that HA-CDI incidence and proportion of severe CDI is low compared to European and US literature. We believe that CDI is underreported, neglected but still an important health care associated infection in Turkey.

Incidence, outcome, and risk factors for recurrence of nosocomial Clostridioides difficile infection in adults: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Nosocomial Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) complicates up to 1% of all hospital admissions and is associated with considerable health burden.

AIMS

To determine the incidence and outcomes of nosocomial CDI at a major University Medical Center.

METHODS

Consecutive adult nosocomial CDI cases were prospectively identified. Stool samples were collected for ribotyping and antibiotic resistance testing. Patients were followed for eight weeks after discharge for relapse.

RESULTS

Over a 2-year period, 215 patients developed nosocomial CDI (incidence 2:1000) and 200 (mean age 62.2±19.6 years) gave informed consent. Mean hospital stay was 23.3±28.9 days (range 0-278). Infection was diagnosed within 7 days of admission (range 0-95) in 129 patients (64.5%). More than two-thirds (69.0%) were previously hospitalized within 12 weeks of the index hospitalization. Twenty five percent received prior antibiotics within eight weeks. Fifty-two patients (26.0%) did not receive antibiotics prior to diagnosis. Considerable comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥8) were noted in 33.5% of patients. Recurrence occurred in 43 patients (21.5%). On multivariate logistic regression, fluoroquinolone exposure was the only predictor of recurrence (OR=2.9, 95%CI 1.1-7.7). Overall mortality was 14.0% and CCI ≥8 was the only predictor on multivariate analysis (p=0.004). Genotyping did not identify any known hypervirulent strains and all isolates were susceptible to metronidazole and vancomycin.

CONCLUSION

Antibiotic exposure, comorbidities, and prior hospitalization constitute the major risk factors for nosocomial CDI. Recurrence is common and is associated with fluoroquinolones exposure. High baseline comorbidity score was the only predictor of increased mortality in this prospective cohort.

Evaluation of a nucleic acid amplification assay for the diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection

Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea and the laboratory diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) continues to be challenging. Accurate and rapid identification of C. difficile will reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and ensure contact isolation to control the spread of CDI. In this study, diagnostic performance of BD MAX Cdiff assay (Becton Dickinson, USA) was evaluated for the detection of C. difficile in 2502 fresh stool samples from hospitalized children and adult patients and the results were compared to toxigenic culture. The frequency of CDI in adults and pediatric patients were found as 3.3% and 6.2%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of BD MAX Cdiff assay were found as; 100%, 99.7%, 93%, and 100% for all patients; 100%, 99.7%, 96.2%, and 100% for pediatric patients; and 100%, 99.6%, 90.2%, and 100% for adult patients, respectively. We concluded that BD MAX Cdiff assay with high sensitivity, specificity, and PPV is useful for the diagnosis of CDI. With a high NPV of 100%, BD MAX Cdiff assay is also suitable for the exclusion of CDI.

Clostridium difficile-associated Diarrhea in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection is rapidly increasing worldwide, but prevalence is difficult to estimate in developing countries where awareness, diagnostic resources, and surveillance protocols are limited. As diarrhea is the hallmark symptom, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the prevalence and incidence of C. difficile infection in patients in these regions who presented with diarrhea.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic literature search of MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Latin-American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature databases to identify and analyze data from recent studies providing prevalence or incidence rates of C. difficile-associated diarrhea in developing countries within four regions: Africa-Middle East, developing Asia, Latin America, and China. Our objectives were to determine the current prevalence and incidence density rates of first episodes of C. difficile-associated diarrhea in developing countries.

RESULTS

Within the regions included in our analysis, prevalence of C. difficile infection in patients with diarrhea was 15% (95% CI 13-17%) (including community and hospitalized patients), with no significant difference across regions. The incidence of C. difficile infection in 17 studies including this information was 8.5 per 10,000 patient-days (95% CI 5.83-12.46). Prevalence was significantly higher in hospitalized patients versus community patients (p  = 0.0227).

CONCLUSION

Our prevalence estimate of 15% is concerning; however, low awareness and inconsistent diagnostic and surveillance protocols suggest this is markedly underestimated. Enhanced awareness and management of C. difficile infection in patients with diarrhea, along with improvements in infection control and surveillance practices, should be implemented to reduce prevalence of C. difficile-associated diarrhea in developing countries.

FUNDING

Pfizer Inc.

Global burden of Clostridium difficile infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Clostridium difficile is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in several countries. However, there are limited evidence characterizing its role as a global public health problem. We conducted a systematic review to provide a comprehensive overview of C. difficile infections (CDI) rates.

Methods

Seven databases were searched (January 2016) to identify studies and surveillance reports published between 2005 and 2015 reporting CDI incidence rates. CDI incidence rates for health care facility-associated (HCF), hospital onset-health care facility-associated, medical or general intensive care unit (ICU), internal medicine (IM), long-term care facility (LTCF), and community-associated (CA) were extracted and standardized. Meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model.

Results

229 publications, with data from 41 countries, were included. The overall rate of HCF-CDI was 2.24 (95% confidence interval CI = 1.66-3.03) per 1000 admissions/y and 3.54 (95%CI = 3.19-3.92) per 10 000 patient-days/y. Estimated rates for CDI with onset in ICU or IM wards were 11.08 (95%CI = 7.19-17.08) and 10.80 (95%CI = 3.15-37.06) per 1000 admission/y, respectively. Rates for CA-CDI were lower: 0.55 (95%CI = 0.13-2.37) per 1000 admissions/y. CDI rates were generally higher in North America and among the elderly but similar rates were identified in other regions and age groups.

Conclusions

Our review highlights the widespread burden of disease of C. difficile, evidence gaps, and the need for sustainable surveillance of CDI in the health care setting and the community.

Diarreia causada por Clostridium difficile: recentes avanços

A infecção causada por Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), um dos agentes causadores de diarréia aguda e recorrente, tem como principal fator de risco o uso de antimicrobianos. Recentemente, houve um aumento da incidência e da mortalidade desta afecção. Clinicamente, a mesma pode manifestar-se desde um quadro de diarreia aquosa leve até a forma grave de colite pseudomembranosa. O objetivo deste artigo é apontar as mudanças epidemiológicas da infecção pelo C. difficile, além de rever fatores de risco, manifestações clínicas, métodos diagnósticos, tratamento e prevenção desta infecção. O aumento na gravidade da infecção causada pelo C. difficile é relacionado a uma nova cepa hipervirulenta, BI/NAPI/Ribotipo 027, que apresenta maior capacidade de produção de toxinas.  Essa nova cepa, mais virulenta, ainda não foi detectada no Brasil, porém como já foi identificada em outros países da América, alerta para a preocupante capacidade de disseminação universal. Essa revisão é baseada em artigos publicados nos últimos 10 anos, utilizando como base de dados o PubMed e o Scielo (Scientific Eletronic Library Online), com as palavras-chave: Epidemiologia, diarreia, Clostridium difficile e cepa hipervirulenta.

The emergence of Clostridium difficile infection in Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence and impact

Background

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common healthcare associated infection and is highly prevalent in Europe and North America. Limited data is available on the prevalence of CDI in Asia. However, secular increases in prevalence of risk factors for CDI suggest that it may be emerging as a major cause of morbidity, highlighting the urgent need for a systematic study of the prevalence of CDI in Asia.

Methods

We systematically searched PubMed/Medline and Embase for publications from Asia between 2000–16 examining prevalence of CDI. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate the pooled prevalence of CDI in Asia and to identify subgroups and regions at high risk.

Results

Our meta-analysis included 51 studies from throughout Asia including 37,663 patients at risk among whom confirmed CDI was found in 4,343 patients. The pooled proportion of confirmed CDI among all patients with diarrhea was 14.8% with a higher prevalence in East Asia (19.5%), compared with South Asia (10.5%) or the Middle East (11.1%). There were an estimated 5.3 episodes of CDI per 10,000 patient days, similar to rates reported from Europe and North America. Infections due to hypervirulent strains were rare. CDI-related mortality was 8.9%.

Conclusions

In a meta-analysis of 51 studies, we observed similar rates of CDI in Asia in comparison to Europe and North America. Increased awareness and improved surveillance of Clostridium difficile is essential to reduce incidence and morbidity.

Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile-associated disease in internal medicine wards in northern Italy

Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is a growing health care problem. Elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and repeated hospitalization are at high risk for developing the disease. Few data are available on epidemiology of CDAD in Italy and no studies have focused on CDAD burden in internal medicine wards. We retrospectively analysed all CDAD cases in four internal medicine wards of a city hospital in northern Italy and reviewed the medical records of patients who developed CDAD during hospitalization. We identified 146 newly acquired cases, yielding a cumulative incidence of 2.56 per 100 hospitalizations and an incidence rate of 23.3 per 10,000 patient-days. Main risk factors were advanced age and length of hospitalization. A high proportion of CDAD patients had several comorbidities and had been treated with more than one antibiotic. The incidence is among the highest previously reported, this may be due to the characteristics of patients admitted to internal medicine wards and to the wards per se. We conclude that efforts are needed to reduce CDAD's burden in this setting, paying attention to logistics, patients care and antibiotic use.

Pseudo-outbreak of Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) in a tertiary-care hospital

The objective of this study was to describe a pseudo-outbreak of C. difficile in a hospital, following a change in the method used to detect the toxin. In February 2002, there were two cases of CDAD and in March 7 occurred, coinciding with a change of the test (from detection of toxin A to toxin A/B). An outbreak was suspected. Active surveillance and education of staff were started. A CDAD case was defined as a patient with acute onset of diarrhea (> or = three episodes of liquid stools) and a positive stool test. They were classified as hospital or community-acquired. Stool samples were also collected for C. difficile culture and isolates were typed using AP-PCR. From March 2002 through December 2003 there were 138 cases of CDAD: 70% were hospital-acquired and among the 30% with CDAD present on admission, most (81%) came directly from the community (50% had no history of hospitalization). Fifty-two percent of hospital-acquired CDAD and 94% of cases on admission had already used antibiotics. The incidence of CDAD in hospitalized patients during surveillance was 3.3 per 1000 patient-admissions. The incidence of CDAD present on admission was 6.1/1000 patients. Sixteen isolates were typed and presented 13 different profiles. In conclusion, the CDAD increase in our study occurred due to change in diagnostic methods and not due to an outbreak, as suspected initially. The incidence in hospitalized patients was much lower than in reported outbreaks. There were 13 molecular types suggesting that an outbreak did not occur. CDAD was largely community-acquired.