Antibiotic Stewardship Program Reduces C. difficile Infection Rates

Restricted cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone, and clindamycin use was associated with reduced antibiotic consumption and a decline in the incidence trend of Clostridium difficile infection.

Use of cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and clindamycin has repeatedly been associated with increased risk for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). However, little is known about how CDI rates are affected by antibiotic stewardship programs aimed at decreasing the administration of such “high-risk” antibiotics.

Researchers recently described their experience with a restriction policy for second- and third-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and clindamycin at a hospital in Northern Ireland that became effective in January 2008, after a major CDI outbreak in other, affiliated institutions. The policy was devised based on a time-series analysis involving one of these affiliated institutions for the period February 2002 through Marc…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection