Hospital-wide use of high-risk antibiotics associated with more C. difficile infections

NEW YORK (September 16, 2019) — Higher hospital-wide use of four classes of antibiotics thought to increase the risk of the dangerous intestinal illness

Clostridioides difficile

were associated with increased prevalence of hospital-associated

C. difficile

, according to a study published today in

Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology

, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

For every 100 days of facility-wide antibiotic therapy using one of these four antibiotics considered high risk, researchers found a 12 percent increase in hospital-associated

C. difficile

infection, though when analyzed separately only cephalosporins were significantly correlated with hospital-associated

C. difficile

.


C. difficile

infections, which can cause life-threatening symptoms ranging from diarrhea to inflammation of the colon, affect nearly a half million patients in the United States each year causing approximately 15,000 deaths per year.

The lack of significant results for

C. difficile

for some classes of antibiotics may reflect reduced use through stewardship, the authors said.

“This highlights the importance of ongoing monitoring of antibiotic use in hospitals for patient safety as it relates to the effect of antibiotics on

C. difficile

infections. In the future it will also be important to look at the effect of antibiotic use on both

C. difficile

infection and antibiotic resistance simultaneously, rather than examining each piece as separate endeavors,” said L. Clifford McDonald, MD, medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and an author on the study.

“This is possible in our era of electronic medical records because antibiotic usage data has become more available. A facility can use the National Healthcare Safety Network Antibiotic Use and Resistance Module and interpret results using the standardized antibiotic administration ratio (SAAR) to have a better understanding of how antibiotics are being used and identify areas for improvement.”

Recent guidelines identified the four classes of antibiotics examined in this study as high risk, though results of previous research evaluating facility-level use of these antibiotics and rates of

C. difficile

have been inconsistent. Researchers in this study analyzed microbiological and pharmacy data from 171 hospitals included in the BD Insights Research Database to look at the impact of hospital-wide use of these four classes of antibiotics on hospital-acquired

C. difficile

.

The four high-risk classes were cephalosporins (used for a wide variety of bacterial infections), fluoroquinolones (used for respiratory and urinary tract infections), carbapenems (broad spectrum antibiotics often reserved for unresponsive infections), and lincosamides (used against staph and strep infections).

Higher

C. difficile

infection rates were also associated with a larger portion of patients over age 65, higher rates of community-onset

C. difficile

, longer length of stay, and teaching hospitals.

###

Ying Tabak, Arjun Srinivasan, Kalvin Yu, Stephen Kurtz, Vikas Gupta, Steven Gelone, Patrick Scoble, L. Clifford McDonald. “Hospital-level High-risk Antibiotic Use in Relation to Hospital-associated

Clostridioides difficile

Infections: Retrospective Analysis of 2016-2017 Data from US Hospitals.”

Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology

. Web (September 16, 2019).


About ICHE

Published through a partnership between the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and Cambridge University Press,

Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology

provides original, peer reviewed scientific articles for anyone involved with an infection control or epidemiology program in a hospital or healthcare facility. ICHE is ranked 41st out of 89 Infectious Disease Journals in the latest Web of Knowledge Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Reuters.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) is a professional society representing more than 2,000 physicians and other healthcare professionals around the world who possess expertise and passion for healthcare epidemiology, infection prevention, and antimicrobial stewardship. The society’s work improves public health by establishing infection-prevention measures and supporting antibiotic stewardship among healthcare providers, hospitals, and health systems. This is accomplished by leading research studies, translating research into clinical practice, developing evidence-based policies, optimizing antibiotic stewardship, and advancing the field of healthcare epidemiology. SHEA and its members strive to improve patient outcomes and create a safer, healthier future for all. Visit SHEA online at

http://www.

shea-online.

org

,

http://www.

facebook.

com/

SHEApreventingHAIs

and

@SHEA_Epi

.


About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 45,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 400 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing. Playing a leading role in today’s international marketplace, Cambridge University Press has over 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world. For further information about Cambridge University Press, visit

Cambridge.org

.

This part of information is sourced from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/sfhe-huo091619.php

Kathleen Petty
202-868-4013
[email protected]
http://shea-online.org 

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