Risk factors for Clostridium difficile infections in Baranya County, Southern Hungary

In the past decade, Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) have become a major public health challenge. Their epidemiology has radically changed with a significant rise in the number of cases and an increase in severe episodes. Recurrence and failure of conventional treatments are very common. Furthermore, a spread of CDI has emerged in general population without the usual risk factors (unexposed to antibiotic treatment, young people, etc.). The conventional treatments (metronidazole and vancomycin) are still effective and are the first-line antibiotics with new recommendations. New therapeutic strategies are now available. Recent studies show a better efficacy of vancomycin compared with metronidazole for severe episodes. Fidaxomicin is a novel antibiotic drug with an efficacy similar to vancomycin and a lower risk of recurrence. Finally, for relapsing forms, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) seems to be the best option. We determined risk factors for CDI among patients treated at the infectious diseases ward of our hospital in Pécs. The study included 886 patients with CDI from 2009 to 2014. The average number of recurrent episodes was 2.16 and the proportion of severe cases was 66%. Among our patients, 726 (82%) had taken antibiotics and 769 (86.8%) had been hospitalized in the prior 3 months before developing CDI. We have found that prior statin use could be a significant risk factor of CDI (OR: 1.7765, 95% CI: 1.3966-2.2597, p < 0.0001). Finally, we present the comparative efficacy of different types of treatment (metronidazole, vancomycin, fidaxomicin, and FMT).