Professional Resources
Facts and figures about CDI
Clostridium difficile: 1 of 3 pathogens designated as an urgent threat by the CDC1
- A threat is categorized as “urgent” when it requires more monitoring and prevention activities and because of significant associated risks, including clinical impact and incidence.1
- Rates of CDI have increased in the United States over the past decade,2 and there were an estimated 453,000 cases of CDI in 2011.3
- While CDI is traditionally considered a hospital-acquired infection,4 community-acquired CDI is a growing public health threat.5
- The risk of getting CDI is 7 to 10 times higher in people taking antibiotics.6
The risk of CDI recurrence is substantial7,8
Risk of rCDI increases proportionally with each subsequent episode7
- After an initial CDI episode, more than 25% of patients have a second episode.
- More than 40% of patients with a previous history of CDI experience additional episodes.
CDI can have potentially serious clinical consequences8
- The characteristic symptom of CDI is CDAD.8 Dehydration and electrolyte disorders are observed in more than 80% of patients with CDI.9
- CDI is not merely a case of nuisance diarrhea. Some cases of CDI are severe. In rare cases, it can lead to colonic ileus, pseudomembranous colitis, or death.8,10
Definitions
CDAD = Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea
CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDI = Clostridium difficile infection
References
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2013.
2. Butler M, Olson A, Drekonja D, et al. Early Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Clostridium difficile: Update. Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 172. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2016. AHRQ publication 16-EHC012-EF.
3. Lessa FC, Mu Y, Bamberg WM, et al. Burden of Clostridium difficile infection in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2015;372(9):825–834. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1408913.
4. Deadly diarrhea: C. difficile causes immense suffering, death. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. www.cdc.gov/HAI/organisms/cdiff/Cdiff_infect.html. Accessed July 14, 2017.
5. Gupta A, Khanna S. Community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection: an increasing public health threat. Infect Drug Resist. 2014;7:63–72. doi:10.2147/IDR.S46780.
6. Hensgens MP, Goorhuis A, Dekkers OM, et al. Time interval of increased risk for Clostridium difficile infection after exposure to antibiotics. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2012;67(3):742–748. doi:10.1093/jac/dkr508.
7. Wilcox MH et al. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(4):305–317.
8. Cohen SH, Gerding DN, Johnson S, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults: 2010 update by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2010;31(5):431–455. doi:10.1086/651706.
9. Lucado J, Gould C, Elixhauser A. Clostridium difficile Infections (CDI) in Hospital Stays, 2009. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2012. H•CUP Statistical Brief #124.
10. Drug trials snapshots: Zinplava. US Food and Drug Administration website. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/InformationOnDrugs/ucm528793.htm. Accessed July 11, 2017.