Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2025

A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: May 25, 2017
Describing the monthly variability of hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile during early coronavirus disease 2019
Kaiting Lang1, T J Atchison2, Priti Singh3
1Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, Columbus, Ohio.
Objective:
To assess the relative risk of hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile (HO-CDI) during each month of the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to compare it with historical expectation based on patient characteristics.
Design:
This study used a retrospective cohort design. We collected secondary data from the institution's electronic health record (EHR).
Setting:
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Ohio, a large tertiary healthcare system in the Midwest.
Patients Or Participants:
All adult patients admitted to the inpatient setting between January 2018 and May 2021 were eligible for the study. Prisoners, children, individuals presenting with Clostridioides difficile on admission, and patients with <4 days of inpatient stay were excluded from the study.
Results:
After controlling for patient characteristics, the observed numbers of HO-CDI cases were not significantly different than expected. However, during 3 months of the pandemic period, the observed numbers of cases were significantly different from what would be expected based on patient characteristics. Of these 3 months, 2 months had more cases than expected and 1 month had fewer.
Conclusions:
Variations in HO-CDI incidence seemed to trend with COVID-19 incidence but were not fully explained by our case mix. Other factors contributing to the variability in HO-CDI incidence beyond listed patient characteristics need to be explored.
More Related Videos
06:51Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291
Published on: December 10, 2016
09:12A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection
Published on: June 15, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin...
Healthcare Associated Infections I: Iatrogenic, Exogenic and Endogenic
HAIs significantly increase the cost of health care. Extended stays in healthcare institutions, increased disability, increased costs of medications, including specialized antibiotics, and prolonged recovery times add to the patient's expenses and the healthcare institution and funding bodies.
Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...