BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common and potentially fatal healthcare-associated infection. Improving diagnostic tests and infection control measures may prevent transmission. We aimed to determine, in resource-limited settings, whether it is more effective and cost-effective to allocate resources to isolation or to diagnostics. METHODS We constructed a mathematical mo...

BACKGROUND The effects of hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) on patient outcomes are incompletely understood. We conducted this study to determine the independent impact of hospital-acquired CDI on in-hospital mortality after adjusting for the time-varying nature of CDI and baseline mortality risk at hospital admission. METHODS This retrospective observational study used ...

To the Editor—In their intriguing investigation, reported in “The protective role of albumin in Clostridium difficile infection: A step toward solving the puzzle,” Di Bella et al explored the cellular mechanism of the potential protective effect of albumin in C. difficile infection (CDI). Their findings deepen our understanding of the association between low albumin levels and increased risks f...

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) incidence in hospitalized children has increased over the past decade and disease has been reported in the community. Therefore, population surveillance that includes nonhospitalized cases is important to accurately estimate the burden of CDI in children. We describe the epidemiology of CDI in the pediatric population of Monroe County, New York. ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) constitutes an important cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Recurrence after first-line treatment with antibiotics is high and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may be effective for refractory and recurrent CDI. This series aims to describe the efficacy of FMT in the treatment of refractory and recurrent CDI. METHODS A prosp...

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) seems to be changing-with increasing virulence and incidence, more resistance to metronidazole, and worse outcomes. Accurate diagnosis is critical, but 3 common misconceptions lead to misdiagnosis: Clostridium difficile infection is a possibility when the patient has fewer than 3 loose stools per day; the glutamate dehydrogenase test for CDI is sensitive an...

Patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy often have diarrhea, which may result from their treatment or Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). CDI diarrhea is an important diagnosis that can be missed if nurses are not vigilant in their assessments. Treatment for CDI diarrhea is different than that of chemotherapy- or radiation-induced diarrhea. If CDI diarrhea is not treated, it can become ...

Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and can be difficult to cure. Most patients with CDI present only colonopathy and in fewer cases extra intestinal features were described such as reactive arthritis (ReA). We present a series of cases with CDI-associated reactive arthritis (CDI-AReA), admitted between 2011-2014 in the National I...

et al. Isolation of Rickettsia parkeri and identifi cation of a novel spotted fever group Rickettsia sp. from Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) in the rates of Rickettsia parkeri infection in Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and identifi cation of " Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae " from Fairfax County, Virginia. A ten-year study of tick biting in Mississippi: implications for human d...

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) methodology has been progressively refined over the past several years. The procedure has an extensive track record of success curing Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) with remarkably few adverse effects. It achieves similar levels of success whether the CDI occurs in the young or elderly, previously normal or profoundly ill patients, or those with CDI...