![Alert](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150129/21-1.png)
C. diff infection requires urgent and aggressive action.
A major and urgent threat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), C. diff infection is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections in US hospitals, affecting approximately half a million people annually.1,2
Significant complications
associated with C. diff infection
![Sepsis](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150008/65.png)
SEPSIS
27%3,a
aFirst recurrence.
![Colectomy](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150005/64.png)
Colectomy
7%3,a
aFirst recurrence.
![Heart failure](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150003/63.png)
Heart Failure
43%4
![Subsequent recurrence](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150011/66.png)
Subsequent Recurrence
up to 60%5
![Anxiety](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150019/61.png)
Anxiety
13.9%6
![PTSD](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150016/60.png)
Ptsd
0.3%6
![Depression](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150000/62.png)
Depression
15.3%6
![](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/06/02084539/68.png)
![](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/06/02084544/73.png)
![Mortality](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/05/28150013/29-1.png)
Mortality associated with C. diff infection:
30-day mortality rate of C. diff infection ranges from 5% to 14% after an initial episode.2,7
A study of Medicare patients with community-acquired C. diff infection documented a 9% mortality rate during inpatient stay.8
In a recent CDC reseach letter, patients (N=9) with severe-acute-respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) and C. diff infection had a 44% mortality rate.9
Unfortunately, C. diff infection may be the beginning of a vicious cycle of recurrence.
![](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/06/02084535/69.png)
![](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/06/02084527/71.png)
![](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/06/02084531/70.png)
C. diff infection can be more
dangerous when it recurs.
Can the power of the microbiome help
change the course of treatment?
Share this with colleagues!
![](http://d1h46iqc2qmkh4.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/173/2021/10/18073607/annual-mortaility-img-New.png)
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. 2021 Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report: Clostridioides Difficile. https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/clostridioides-difficile-508.pdf. Accessed August 25, 2021.
- Guh AY, Mu Y, Winston LG, et al. Trends in U.S. burden of Clostridioides difficile infection and outcomes. N Engl J Med. 2021;382(14):1320-1330.
- Feuerstadt P, Boules M, Stong L, et al. Clinical complications in patients with primary and recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection: a real-world data analysis. SAGE Open Medicine. January 2021. doi:10.1177/2050312120986733
- Nelson W, Scott TA, Boules M, et al. Health care utilization and costs of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection in the elderly: a real-world claim analysis. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2021;27(7):828-838.
- Leong C, Zelenitsky S. Treatment strategies for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2013;66(6):361-368.
- Scott TA, Unni S, Boules M, et al. Clinical burden of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection in the Medicare population. Presented at: 2020 Digestive Disease Week; May 2-5, 2020; Chicago, IL.
- Freeman J, Bauer MP, Baines SD, et al. The changing epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infections. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2010;23(3):529-549.
- Collins CE, Ayturk MD, Flahive JM, et al. Epidemiology and outcomes of community-acquired Clostridium difficile infections in medicare beneficiaries. J Am Coll Surg. 2014;218(6):1141-1147.e1.
- Sandhu A, Tillotson G, Polistico J, et al. Clostridioides difficile in COVID-19 patients, Detroit, Michigan, USA, March–April 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(9).2272-2274.