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12 news updates to mark C. diff Awareness Month

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The C. Diff Foundation, a non-profit patient advocacy group, has dedicated November 1 as the beginning of its fourth annual, month-long, global C. diff awareness campaign.

According to CDC statistics cited in a press release from the organization, Clostridium difficile infection is currently “the most common microbial cause of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals, … costs up to $4.8 billion each year in excess health care costs for acute care facilities alone, [and may] cause nearly 500,000 infections in patients in the U.S. annually. In one study noted by the CDC, among infected patients, nearly 29,000 died within 30 days of being diagnosed, and more than half of those deaths (15,000) were directly attributable to a C. difficile infection.”

In light of the C. Diff Foundation’s awareness initiative this month, Healio Gastroenterology has compiled 12 recent news articles highlighting recent advances in understanding treatment and risk factors for C. difficile infection.

Risk factors 

1. Obesity linked to increased risk for severe C. diff infection 

   Obesity, as measured by BMI, was associated with an increased risk for severe community- and hospital-onset C. difficile infection, according to results from a retrospective case-control study. Read more

    

2. One in five C. diff patients re-hospitalized within 30 days 

   LAS VEGAS — More than 20% of patients hospitalized with C. difficile infection in the U.S. are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, according to research presented at ACG 2016. Predictors of readmission for CDI included female sex, renal failure or electrolyte abnormalities, anemia or coagulation defects, and being discharged home rather than another facility. Read more
   
   

3. Gastric bypass linked to higher C. diff risk 

   LAS VEGAS — Patients with obesity who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery have an increased risk for C. difficile infection, according to the results of a retrospective study presented at ACG 2016. Read more

    

4. Hospital food unlikely source for C. diff acquisition 

   Hospital food was unlikely to be a source of C. difficile acquisition at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, according to data from a prospective cohort study conducted there. Read more

    

5. Prior patient receipt of antibiotics increases C. diff risk for subsequent bed occupants 

   Patients who occupied the same hospital bed as a prior inhabitant who received antibiotics were at an increased risk for C. difficile infection even if they did not receive antibiotics themselves, according to recent study results. Read more

    

6. PPIs do not increase risk for C. diff infection in ICU 

   Proton pump inhibitors are not associated with an increased risk for C. difficile infection in ICU patients, according to the results of a retrospective cohort study. Read more

    

   Treatments

    

7. FDA approves Zinplava to reduce C. diff infection recurrence 

   Merck announced that the FDA has approved Zinplava for the prevention of recurrent C. difficile infection in adult patients. Read more

    

8. MODIFY: Zinplava reduces C. diff recurrence regardless of antibiotic choice 

   NEW ORLEANS — Zinplava prevented recurrent C. difficile infection regardless of which standard of care antibiotics patients received, according to a prespecified analysis of the MODIFY trials presented at IDWeek 2016. Read more

    

9. PUNCH CD2: Microbiome drug safely prevents C. diff recurrence 

   RBX2660, a microbiome-based drug candidate, safely prevented recurrent C. difficile infection after a standard course of antibiotics, according to results from the PUNCH CD2 trial presented at UEG Week 2016. Read more

    

10. FMT efficacy for C. diff does not vary between stool bank donors 

    NEW ORLEANS — Clinical efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent C. difficile infection is unlikely to vary between donors from a public stool bank, according to an analysis of real-world patient data presented at IDWeek 2016. Read more

     

11. C. diff resolution 4 weeks after FMT predicts 8-week cure 

    LAS VEGAS — Resolution of C. difficile infection symptoms after fecal microbiota transplantation at week 4 is predictive of cure at week 8, according to research presented at ACG 2016. This suggests that clinical cure may be evaluated at week 4 instead of the standard 8-week cure endpoint. Read more

     

12. Fecal transplant provides long-term positive changes to gut microbiome 

Fecal microbiota transplantation results in significant and long-term changes to the gut microbiomes of patients treated for recurrent C. difficile infection, according to recent study results. Read more