How Common are Clostridium difficile infections?

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In 2011, Clostridium difficile was estimated, by a recent report from the CDC (NEJM 2015; 372: 825-34) to result in 453,000 infections in the U.S. based on surveillance data from 10 geographic regions.

Other key findings:

  • Approximately 29,000 deaths were attributed to Clostridium difficile infections
  • 65.8% of cases were health care associated.
  • 24.2% had onset in the hospital
  • Increased risk was particularly notable among the elderly, with an rate ratio of 8.65 in those 65 years of age or older
  • The aggressive NAP1 strain was evident in 30.7% of health-care associated infections compared with 18.8% of community-associated infections

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Note to blog followers: Yesterday’s blog was retitled to “Radiologic Image for St. Patrick’s Day” rather than “Endoscopic Image for St. Patrick’s Day”