Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2007
Journal/Book/Conference Title
BMC Infectious Diseases
Volume
2007
DOI of Original Publication
10.1186/1471-2334-7-42
Date of Submission
September 2014
Abstract
Background Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is a serious nosocomial infection, however few studies have assessed CDAD outcome in the intensive care unit (ICU). We evaluated the epidemiology, clinical course and outcome of hospital-acquired CDAD in the critical care setting.
Methods We performed a historical cohort study on 58 adults with a positive C. difficile cytotoxin assay result occurring in intensive care units.
Results Sixty-two percent of patients had concurrent infections, 50% of which were bloodstream infections. The most frequently prescribed antimicrobials prior to CDAD were anti-anaerobic agents (60.3%). Septic shock occurred in 32.8% of CDAD patients. The in-hospital mortality was 27.6%. Univariate analysis revealed that SOFA score, at least one organ failure and age were predictors of mortality. Charlson score ≥3, gender, concurrent infection, and number of days with diarrhea before a positive C. difficile toxin assay were not significant predictors of mortality on univariate analysis. Independent predictors for death were SOFA score at infection onset (per 1-point increment, OR 1.40; CI95 1.13–1.75) and age (per 1-year increment, OR 1.10; CI95 1.02–1.19).
Conclusion In ICU patients with CDAD, advanced age and increased severity of illness at the onset of infection, as measured by the SOFA score, are independent predictors of death.
Rights
© 2007 Marra et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Is Part Of
VCU Internal Medicine Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-7-42