scholarly journals 750. Retrospective Evaluation of the Three-Step EIA/PCR Algorithm as a Cost-Effective Method for Detection and Treatment of Clostridium Difficile Infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S472-S473
Author(s):  
Bakri Kulla ◽  
patrick Haggerty

Abstract Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the primary cause of infectious diarrhea in the United States. With an estimated 453,000-500,000 burden cases that are associated with 15,000-30,000 deaths annually in the United States. Because of its prevalence, there is a projected 3.2-4.8 billion dollar annual cost for inpatient care related to CDI. For these reasons, accurate and timely detection of CDI is crucial to reduce the morbidity, mortality, and medical costs. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study. Adult patients, aged 18 through 80 years, admitted between 9/1/2016 and 9/30/2017, who presented with diarrhea and received a CDI algorithm test. To assess bivariate associations between true positive and indeterminate positive groups, categorical variables were compared using Chi-Square or Fisher’s exact tests when appropriate, and continuous variables were analyzed using independent samples t-tests. Results The study included 1031 stool samples, of which 853 (82.7%) were CDI negative and 178 (17.3%) were CDI positive. Of the full sample, 265 (25.7%) were GDH (+), 94 (9.1%) were toxin (+), and 84 (8.1%) were PCR (+). In order to examine patient-level variables, the first positive from each patient was included to ensure independence of data points, resulting in 830 unique tests and patients. The true positive rate of this sub-sample was 9.4% (n = 78) and indeterminate positive rate was 8.7% (n = 72). An important findings of the study is that of the patients who were GDH (+)/toxin (-), 87 (50.9%) were PCR (-) and 84 (49.1%) were PCR (+).Table 1 Conclusion The study found that of the patients who are GDH (+) and Toxin (-), the PCR test serves as a proxy for the CDI test. In addition, we demonstrated that whether the patient was true positive by the GDH/Toxin test or indeterminate positive, the outcomes were the same. The only difference was the antibiotic selections for treatment. Performing PCR tests as a part of three-step algorithm prevented nearly half of discrepant patients from being unnecessarily treated with antibiotics and placed on enteric precaution, thereby extending their hospital stay. Finally, by preventing unnecessary antibiotic use, isolation and hospital length of stay, it is proposed that the three-step algorithm effectively reduces hospital cost. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

2013 ◽  
Vol 178 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Brown ◽  
N. Daneman ◽  
P. Arora ◽  
R. Moineddin ◽  
D. N. Fisman

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 232470962094131
Author(s):  
Swetha Parvataneni ◽  
Avinash R. Dasari

Clostridium difficile infection is a common nosocomial infection in US hospitals, accounting for approximately 12 800 deaths annually in the United States. These infections are often associated with the use of antibiotics, which can alter the gut microbiome and thus render patients susceptible to C difficile infection. C difficile is often spread via fecal oral transmission. Multiple medications have been developed, but recurrence rates reach 60% after treatment. Recent data have shown that zinc supplementation decreases the recurrence of C difficile infection. In this article, we present a case of recurrent C difficile infection with zinc deficiency in which zinc supplementation improved the symptoms and reduced the incidence of recurrence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Kishan Mahabir ◽  
Jamil J. Merchant ◽  
Christopher Smith ◽  
Alisha Garibaldi

Abstract Introduction Growing interest in the medicinal properties of cannabis has led to an increase in its use to treat medical conditions, and the establishment of state-specific medical cannabis programs. Despite medical cannabis being legal in 33 states and the District of Colombia, there remains a paucity of data characterizing the patients accessing medical cannabis programs. Methods We retrospectively reviewed a registry with data from 33 medical cannabis evaluation clinics in the United States, owned and operated by CB2 Insights. Data were collected primarily by face-to-face interviews for patients seeking medical cannabis certification between November 18, 2018 and March 18, 2020. Patients were removed from the analysis if they did not have a valid date of birth, were less than 18, or did not have a primary medical condition reported; a total of 61,379 patients were included in the analysis. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics expressed as a mean (standard deviation (SD)) or median (interquartile range (IQR)) as appropriate for continuous variables, and number (percent) for categorical variables. Statistical tests performed across groups included t-tests, chi-squared tests and regression. Results The average age of patients was 45.5, 54.8% were male and the majority were Caucasian (87.5%). Female patients were significantly older than males (47.0 compared to 44.6). Most patients reported cannabis experience prior to seeking medical certification (66.9%). The top three mutually exclusive primary medical conditions reported were unspecified chronic pain (38.8%), anxiety (13.5%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (8.4%). The average number of comorbid conditions reported was 2.7, of which anxiety was the most common (28.3%). Females reported significantly more comorbid conditions than males (3.1 compared to 2.3). Conclusion This retrospective study highlighted the range and number of conditions for which patients in the US seek medical cannabis. Rigorous clinical trials investigating the use of medical cannabis to treat pain conditions, anxiety, insomnia, depression and PTSD would benefit a large number of patients, many of whom use medical cannabis to treat multiple conditions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 987-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Clifford McDonald ◽  
Dale N Gerding ◽  
Stuart Johnson ◽  
Johan S Bakken ◽  
Karen C Carroll ◽  
...  

Abstract A panel of experts was convened by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) to update the 2010 clinical practice guideline on Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in adults. The update, which has incorporated recommendations for children (following the adult recommendations for epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment), includes significant changes in the management of this infection and reflects the evolving controversy over best methods for diagnosis. Clostridium difficile remains the most important cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea and has become the most commonly identified cause of healthcare-associated infection in adults in the United States. Moreover, C. difficile has established itself as an important community pathogen. Although the prevalence of the epidemic and virulent ribotype 027 strain has declined markedly along with overall CDI rates in parts of Europe, it remains one of the most commonly identified strains in the United States where it causes a sizable minority of CDIs, especially healthcare-associated CDIs. This guideline updates recommendations regarding epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, infection prevention, and environmental management.


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