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Updated: Feb 5, 2026
09:12
A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection
Published on: June 15, 2018
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Clostridium Difficile-Associated Infection in Trauma Patients: Development of the Clostridium Difficile Influencing
Efstathios Karamanos1, Arielle Hodari Gupta2, Cletus Nor Stanton3
1Surgeon in the Division of Acute Care Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI (ekarama1@hfhs.org).
The Permanente Journal
|September 12, 2018
Summary
Clostridium difficile-associated infection (CDAI) significantly increases mortality and morbidity in trauma patients. A new scoring system can help identify high-risk individuals for early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Trauma surgery
- Infectious diseases
- Critical care medicine
Background:
- Clostridium difficile-associated infection (CDAI) is known to worsen outcomes in surgical patients.
- The specific impact of CDAI on trauma patient populations remains largely uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the effect of CDAI on trauma patients.
- To develop a predictive scoring system for CDAI in this demographic.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of trauma patient records from a Level I Trauma Center (2001-2014).
- Propensity score matching (1:3 ratio) to compare patients with and without CDAI.
- Decision-tree analysis to create a predictive model.
Main Results:
- Patients with CDAI experienced significantly higher in-hospital mortality (12% vs. 4%).
- CDAI was associated with increased need for mechanical ventilation (57% vs. 23%) and longer hospital stays (15.3 vs. 2.1 days).
- No significant differences in admission characteristics or demographics were observed between groups.
Conclusions:
- CDAI poses a substantial threat, leading to increased morbidity and mortality in trauma patients.
- The developed 'C. difficile influencing factor score' effectively identifies trauma patients at elevated risk for CDAI.
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