Pediatric Clostridium difficile Infections Increasing

From 1997 through 2006, the incidence of C. difficile infections increased from 7.24 to 12.8 per 10,000 pediatric hospitalizations in the U.S.

Outbreaks of severe and complicated Clostridium difficile (CD) infections have become more common in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years, at least in part because of the evolution and spread of a hypervirulent toxigenic CD strain. Lately, community-acquired CD infections and severe disease have been reported in children, including those without recent exposure to antibiotics.

To characterize the epidemiology of CD infections in the U.S. population aged <18 years, investigators analyzed information about CD-related hospitalizations from two databases: the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, which in 2006 included data from hospitals in 38 states, and the National Center for Health Statistics, which includes a representative sample of …

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Pediatric Clostridium difficile Infections Increasing

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Reviewing Author