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Updated: May 31, 2026

A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: May 25, 2017
Risk factors for recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection: effect of vancomycin-resistant enterococci
Hee Kyoung Choi1, Kye Hyung Kim, Sun Hee Lee
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infections Disease, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Abstract:
Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most difficult problems in healthcare infection control. We evaluated the risk factors associated with recurrence in patients with CDI. A retrospective cohort study of 84 patients with CDI from December 2008 through October 2010 was performed at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital. Recurrence occurred in 13.1% (11/84) of the cases and in-hospital mortality rate was 7.1% (6/84). Stool colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) (P = 0.006), exposure to more than 3 antibiotics (P = 0.009), low hemoglobin levels (P = 0.025) and continued use of previous antibiotics (P = 0.05) were found to be more frequent in the recurrent group. Multivariate analysis indicated that, stool VRE colonization was independently associated with CDI recurrence (odds ratio, 14.519; 95% confidence interval, 1.157-182.229; P = 0.038). This result suggests that stool VRE colonization is a significant risk factor for CDI recurrence.
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