A Propensity-Matched Analysis Between Standard Versus Tapered Oral Vancomycin Courses for the Management of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection

Background This study was conducted to compare clinical outcomes of oral vancomycin courses without taper versus oral vancomycin courses with taper for treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Methods This investigation was a multicenter, retrospective, propensity score-matched analysis study using a Veterans Health Administration national clinical administrative database. Adult patients who were treated for recurrent CDI from any Veterans Affairs Medical Center between June 1, 2011 and October 31, 2016 were included if they were treated with oral vancomycin with or without a tapering regimen. The 2 groups were matched by next-nearest approach from a propensity score formula derived from independent variables associated with the selection of a taper regimen. Results Propensity score matching resulted in 2 well-matched groups consisting of 226 episodes of patients treated with a vancomycin taper regimen and 678 episodes treated by vancomycin regimen without taper. No difference was found for the primary outcome of 180-day recurrence (59 of 226 [26.1%] for taper regimens versus 161 of 678 [23.8%], P = .48). A secondary outcome of 90-day all-cause mortality met statistical significance, favoring a taper regimen (5.31% vs 9.29%, P = .049); however, secondary outcomes of 90-day recurrence and 180-day all-cause mortality were not different. Conclusions Vancomycin taper regimens did not provide benefit over vancomycin regimens without taper in preventing additional CDI recurrence in patients with first or second recurrent episodes in this propensity score-matched analysis.