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Related Experiment Videos

Nosocomial Clostridium difficile colonisation and disease.

S Johnson1, C R Clabots, F V Linn

  • 1Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417.

Lancet (London, England)
|July 14, 1990
PubMed
Summary

Hospitalized patients colonized with Clostridium difficile (C. diff) rarely develop diarrhea. Most carriers remain asymptomatic, indicating symptom-free colonization does not increase C. diff illness risk.

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Correction for Cairns et al., "Comparative Genome Analysis and Global Phylogeny of the Toxin Variant Clostridium difficile PCR Ribotype 017 Reveals the Evolution of Two Independent Sublineages".

Journal of clinical microbiology·2017

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Microbiology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Clostridium difficile (C. diff) colonization is a concern in hospitalized patients.
  • Understanding the risk of C. diff-associated diarrhea (CDAD) in colonized individuals is crucial for infection control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the risk of developing C. diff diarrhea or colitis in patients colonized with C. diff during long-term hospital stays.
  • To identify potential risk factors and transmission patterns of C. diff in a hospital setting.

Main Methods:

  • Weekly rectal swabs were collected from 282 long-term hospitalized patients for 9 weeks.
  • C. diff presence was determined by culture.
  • Restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) was used to characterize C. diff isolates.

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Main Results:

  • 21% (60/282) of patients were culture-positive for C. diff.
  • 51 patients were asymptomatic carriers, while 9 developed C. diff diarrhea or colitis.
  • Diarrhea cases were linked to specific REA types (B/B2), suggesting a nosocomial outbreak on one ward.
  • Asymptomatic carriers did not show an increased risk of subsequent clinical illness.

Conclusions:

  • Most patients colonized with C. diff remain asymptomatic and do not progress to clinical illness.
  • A nosocomial outbreak of C. diff, characterized by specific REA types, occurred on one ward.
  • Symptom-free C. diff colonization does not appear to be a significant risk factor for developing C. diff-associated disease.