Antibiotics and Nosocomial Clostridioides difficile, a Retrospective Chart Review

C. difficile is a complication of antibiotic therapy. Certain antibiotics are associated with a higher rate of developing C. difficile. The charts of 54 patients with nosocomial C. difficile were reviewed and very few had received a high-risk antibiotic. Seven (13%) of 54 patients had not received any antibiotics in the hospital prior to the positive stool test for C. difficile. Moreover, 6 of the 7 had no documentation of receiving an antibiotic in the 56 days prior to admission suggesting that they might be colonized with C. difficile.