A Propensity-Matched Analysis Between Standard Versus Tapered Oral Vancomycin Courses for the Management of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection

Pulsed dosing and extended daily dosing of oral vancomycin do not facilitate clearance of Clostridioides difficile colonization in mice

Vancomycin taper and pulse regimens are commonly used to treat recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections, but the mechanism by which these regimens might reduce recurrences is unclear. Here, we used a mouse model to test the hypothesis that pulse dosing of vancomycin after a 10-day treatment course enhances clearance of C. difficile from the intestinal tract. Mice with C. difficile colonization received 10 days of once-daily oral vancomycin followed by 20 days of treatment with saline (controls), daily vancomycin, or pulse dosing of vancomycin every 2 or 3 days. Stool samples were collected to measure the concentration of C. difficile during and after treatment, vancomycin concentrations, and growth of vegetative C. difficile during every 3 days dosing. Pulse dosing of vancomycin was not effective in maintaining suppression of C. difficile (P > 0.05 in comparison to saline controls); growth of vegetative C. difficile occurred between pulse doses when vancomycin decreased to undetectable levels. Daily dosing of vancomycin suppressed C. difficile during treatment, but recurrent colonization occurred after treatment in more than 75% of mice, and by post-treatment day 14, there was no significant difference among the control, pulse dosing, and daily dosing groups (P > 0.05). These findings demonstrate that pulse dosing of vancomycin every 2 or 3 days does not facilitate the clearance of C. difficile spores in mice. Studies are needed to examine the impact of vancomycin taper and pulsed regimens in patients.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Efficacy of Vancomycin Taper and Pulse Regimens in Clostridioides difficile Infection

BACKGROUND

Vancomycin is the drug of choice for treating Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). We compare CDI resolution with vancomycin taper, pulse, and taper-and-pulse regimens.

METHODS

We searched for Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus through October 9^th, 2020. Taper regimen was defined as dose reduction over time; pulse was a regimen less frequent than daily. Studies assessing CDI resolution rates were included. Meta-analyses for resolution rates were performed using weighted proportion ratios (WPR).

RESULTS

Ten studies with 675 patients treated with vancomycin regimens were included. Resolution rates were 83% (212/266, 95% CI 69-94%, I² = 85%) for taper-and-pulse, 68% (264/383, 95% CI 57-78%, I² = 72%) for taper alone, and 54% (11/26 95% CI 0-100%, I² = 86%) for pulse alone regimens. Taper-and-pulse was superior to taper alone (WPR 83% vs 68%, p < 0.0001) and pulse alone (WPR 83% vs 54%, p < 0.0004), no significant difference between taper alone or pulse alone (WPR 68% vs 54%, p = 0.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Limitations of our analysis are a small number of included studies and heterogeneity. Vancomycin taper-and-pulse seems superior to pulse alone or taper alone for recurrent CDI. A randomized controlled trial comparing vancomycin taper-and-pulse to fidaxomicin and microbiome restoration is needed.

Danish national guideline for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection and use of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)

Aim: This Danish national guideline describes the treatment of adult patients with Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile (CD) infection and the use of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). It suggests minimum standard for implementing an FMT service.Method: Four scientific societies appointed members for a working group which conducted a systematic literature review and agreed on the text and recommendations. All clinical recommendations were evalluated for evidence level and grade of recommendation.Results: In CD infection, the use of marketed and experimental antibiotics as well as microbiota-based therapies including FMT are described. An algorithm for evaluating treatment effect is suggested. The organisation of FMT, donor recruitment and screening, laboratory preparation, clinical application and follow-up are described.Conclusion: Updated evidence for the treatment of CD infection and the use of FMT is provided.

Outcomes associated with recent guideline recommendations removing metronidazole for treatment of non-severe Clostridioides difficile infection: a retrospective, observational, nationwide cohort study

OBJECTIVES

The 2017 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) removed metronidazole as a preferred option for initial episodes of non-severe CDI. This study aimed to determine if the shift away from metronidazole improved clinical outcomes of initial episodes of non-severe CDI.

METHODS

The study was a retrospective, observational, nationwide cohort study using a Veterans Health Administration national clinical administrative database. Adult patients treated for non-severe CDI before and after the February 2018 publication of the 2017 IDSA/SHEA C. difficile Clinical Practice Guidelines were included. The primary outcome was the composite of treatment failure or probable recurrence.

RESULTS

A total of 3608 patients were included, with 1809 in the pre-guideline cohort (mean [SD] age, 65.5 [14.2] years; 1602 [88.6%] male) and 1799 in the post-guideline cohort (mean [SD] age, 64 [14.6] years; 1584 [88%] male). Overall composite of treatment failure or probable recurrence was similar between both cohorts (318 of 1809 [17.6%] pre-guideline cohort vs. 317 of 1799 [17.6%] post-guideline cohort [P = 0.97]).

CONCLUSION

The shift away from metronidazole as a preferred option in initial non-severe Clostridioides difficile infection did not improve the composite of treatment failure or recurrence.

Treatment issues in recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections and the possible role of germinants

Clostridioides difficile is the number one cause of hospital-acquired infections in the United States and one of the CDC's urgent-level pathogen threats. The inflammation caused by pathogenic C. difficile results in diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. Patients who undergo clinically successful treatment for this disease commonly experience recurrent infections. Current treatment options can eradicate the vegetative cell form of the bacteria but do not impact the spore form, which is impervious to antibiotics and resists conventional environmental cleaning procedures. Antibiotics used in treating C. difficile infections (CDI) often do not eradicate the pathogen and can prevent regeneration of the microbiome, leaving them vulnerable to recurrent CDI and future infections upon subsequent non-CDI-directed antibiotic therapy. Addressing the management of C. difficile spores in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is important to make further progress in CDI treatment. Currently, no treatment options focus on reducing GI spores throughout CDI antibiotic therapy. This review focuses on colonization of the GI tract, current treatment options and potential treatment directions emphasizing germinant with antibiotic combinations to prevent recurrent disease.

Economic evaluation of Faecal microbiota transplantation compared to antibiotics for the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection

BACKGROUND

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a hospital acquired disease associated with significant morbidity, hospitalisation and mortality. Almost 30% of treated patients experience at least one recurrence after treatment of their first episode. Treatment of recurrent CDI (rCDI) utilises vancomycin or fidaxomicin, however, a newer treatment option is faecal microbial transplantation (FMT) administered by nasogastric tube (NGT) or colonoscopy. It is associated with higher cure and lower recurrence rates than fidaxomicin or vancomycin. The aim of this analysis is to evaluate the cost effectiveness of FMT for rCDI using the latest and best evidence.

METHOD

A cost utility analysis was conducted using a decision model representing the cost per additional Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) from a National Health Service (NHS) perspective. A Markov model was constructed to compare FMT NGT and colonoscopy to antibiotic treatment (fidaxomicin or vancomycin). The model was informed by a literature review of clinical evidence, specifically focussing on hospitalised patients with rCDI over 65 years. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess uncertainties around the model inputs and assumptions.

FINDINGS

The base case analysis showed that FMT is a less costly and more effective treatment than either fidaxomicin or vancomycin. FMT colonoscopy was slightly more effective than FMT NGT leading to an additional 0.012 QALYs but more expensive and the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) was £242,514/QALY. The Probabilistic sensitivity analysis based on 10,000 simulations suggested the probability of FMT NGT being cost effective was almost 78% at £20,000/QALY Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) threshold.

INTERPRETATION

FMT is both more effective and less costly option than antimicrobial therapy. FMT NGT was the preferred route of administration and is likely to be considered the most cost-effective strategy by decision makers given current acceptable thresholds.

Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (Propensity Score) using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index

When randomized controlled trials are not feasible, retrospective studies using big data provide an efficient and cost-effective alternative, though they are at risk for treatment selection bias. Treatment selection bias occurs in a non-randomized study when treatment selection is based on pre-treatment characteristics that are also associated with the outcome. These pre-treatment characteristics, or confounders, can influence evaluation of a treatment's effect on the outcome. Propensity scores minimize this bias by balancing the known confounders between treatment groups. There are a few approaches to performing propensity score analyses, including stratifying by the propensity score, propensity matching, and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Described here is the use of IPTW to balance baseline comorbidities in a cohort of patients within the US Military Health System Data Repository (MDR). The MDR is a relatively optimal data source, as it provides a contained cohort in which nearly complete information on inpatient and outpatient services is available for eligible beneficiaries. Outlined below is the use of the MDR supplemented with information from the national death index to provide robust mortality data. Also provided are suggestions for using administrative data. Finally, the protocol shares an SAS code for using IPTW to balance known confounders and plot the cumulative incidence function for the outcome of interest.

Management of Clostridioides difficile colitis: insights for the gastroenterologist

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a common cause of diarrhea in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The last few years have seen major changes in the treatment spectrum of CDI, most notably, recommendations against using metronidazole for initial CDI, the addition of fidaxomicin and bezlotoxumab, and emergence of microbial replacement therapies. Several other therapies are undergoing clinical trials. This narrative review focuses on the treatment of CDI with a summary of literature on the newer modalities and the treatment guidelines issued by Infectious Diseases Society of America and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Fidaxomicin versus oral vancomycin for severe Clostridium difficile infection: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to compare clinical outcomes of fidaxomicin versus oral vancomycin in the management of severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).

METHODS

The investigation was a retrospective, multicentre, propensity score-matched analysis using a national clinical administrative database. Veterans treated for severe CDI from any Veterans Affairs Medical Center between 1 June 2011 and 30 June 2017 were included if they received fidaxomicin or an oral vancomycin regimen for treatment. The two groups were matched by the nearest-neighbour method from a propensity score derived from independent variables associated with the selection of a fidaxomicin course.

RESULTS

Propensity score matching resulted in two well-matched cohorts consisting of 213 fidaxomicin and 639 oral vancomycin courses. No statistically-significant difference was found for the primary outcome of combined clinical failure or recurrence (68/213 (31.9%) versus 163/639 (25.5%), respectively, p 0.071). Additionally, no statistically significant differences were found for the secondary outcomes of 30-day (23/213 (10.8%) versus 75/639 (11.7%), respectively, p 0.71), 90-day (48/213 (22.5%) versus 140/639 (21.9%), respectively, p 0.85), and 180-day mortality (62/213 (29.1%) versus 186/639 (29.1%), respectively, p 1.0) between the two treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Courses of fidaxomicin or oral vancomycin for severe CDI resulted in similar treatment outcomes. Study findings are consistent with current treatment guideline recommendations for the use of either agent in the management of severe CDI.

The use of faecal microbiota transplant as treatment for recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infection and other potential indications: joint British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) guidelines

Interest in the therapeutic potential of faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) has been increasing globally in recent years, particularly as a result of randomised studies in which it has been used as an intervention. The main focus of these studies has been the treatment of recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), but there is also an emerging evidence base regarding potential applications in non-CDI settings. The key clinical stakeholders for the provision and governance of FMT services in the UK have tended to be in two major specialty areas: gastroenterology and microbiology/infectious diseases. While the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance (2014) for use of FMT for recurrent or refractory CDI has become accepted in the UK, clear evidence-based UK guidelines for FMT have been lacking. This resulted in discussions between the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and Healthcare Infection Society (HIS), and a joint BSG/HIS FMT working group was established. This guideline document is the culmination of that joint dialogue.