Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection: Are We Losing the Battle?

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) — which was first appreciated in the 1980s as colitis with considerable morbidity and mortality — has now become the most common healthcare-associated infection, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths and $5 billion in healthcare costs annually. Moreover, multiply recurrent C. difficile infection (mrCDI), which occurs in about 30% of patients and prompts expensive and often inadequate treatment, is on the rise.

To quantify the rising incidence of mrCDI and to identify associated risk factors, investigators conducted a retrospective cohort study using 2001–2012 data from the OptumInsight Clinformatics Database, which includes 40 million insured Medicare and Medicaid patients. CDI cases were defined by ICD-9…