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The Importance of C. difficile Colonization in Infection Prevention

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Infection Prevention

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Abstract

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has become the most common healthcare-associated infection in the United States, reportedly leading to almost half a million infections and 15,000 deaths in 2011. Current CDI prevention strategies largely focus on C. difficile transmission from symptomatic patients; and active surveillance to detect and isolate asymptomatic carriers is not routinely recommended. However, this remains an actively debated topic. In this chapter, we will discuss various aspects of C. difficile colonization to help readers understand the basis for this controversy. This chapter will cover among other topics: the detection of C. difficile carriers and its impact on CDI rates, the association of C. difficile colonization with subsequent symptomatic CDI, the contribution of asymptomatically colonized patients to in-hospital CDI transmission, and the effect of targeting asymptomatically colonized patients for infection prevention interventions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 S. Paca Street, 6th Floor, Suite 100, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Natalia Blanco & Surbhi Leekha

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  1. Natalia Blanco
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  2. Surbhi Leekha
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Correspondence to Surbhi Leekha .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. VCUHS Epidemiology and Infection Control, North Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Gonzalo Bearman

  2. Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Silvia Munoz-Price

  3. University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Daniel J. Morgan

  4. Department of Medical Affairs and Division of Infectious Diseases, Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Rekha K. Murthy

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Blanco, N., Leekha, S. (2018). The Importance of C. difficile Colonization in Infection Prevention. In: Bearman, G., Munoz-Price, S., Morgan, D., Murthy, R. (eds) Infection Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60980-5_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60980-5_26

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