Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a pediatric hospital

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Culturing and Maintaining Clostridium difficile in an Anaerobic Environment
11:13

Culturing and Maintaining Clostridium difficile in an Anaerobic Environment

Published on: September 14, 2013

Jordan G Spivack1, Stephen C Eppes, Joel D Klein

  • 1Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Clinical Pediatrics
|June 13, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Clostridioides difficile rarely causes severe diarrhea in children. Testing for this infection should be reserved for pediatric inpatients experiencing prolonged diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Gastroenterology
  • Hospital Epidemiology

Background:

  • Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a significant cause of healthcare-associated infections.
  • Understanding risk factors and disease presentation in pediatric populations is crucial for appropriate management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify risk factors, symptoms, and disease severity of C. difficile in pediatric inpatients.
  • To evaluate the appropriateness of current C. difficile testing criteria in this demographic.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort analysis of pediatric inpatients over a 3.5-year period.
  • Review of medical records to identify C. difficile-positive cases and associated clinical data.
  • Analysis of risk factors, symptoms (including diarrhea duration and abdominal pain), and disease severity.

Main Results:

  • Twenty-two C. difficile-positive pediatric inpatients were identified.
  • Oncologic diagnosis, diarrhea exceeding 2 days, and gastrointestinal symptoms (especially abdominal pain) were key risk factors.
  • Most cases presented with mild, self-limiting illness; no severe C. difficile diarrhea was observed.
  • Seventy-eight percent of positive patients had alternative explanations for their diarrhea.

Conclusions:

  • C. difficile infrequently causes severe diarrheal illness in pediatric inpatients.
  • C. difficile testing in this population should be judiciously applied, primarily for cases with severe, prolonged diarrhea and abdominal pain.

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