C. difficile Infection in Emergency Department Patients with Diarrhea but No Vomiting

Clostridium difficile infection typically occurs after antibiotic use or overnight exposure to the healthcare environment, but some cases occur in the absence of these traditional risk factors. To determine the proportion of emergency department (ED) patients with diarrhea but no vomiting who are infected with C. difficile and how many of them lack risk factors, investigators conducted a prospective study at 10 EDs across the U.S. from 2010 to 2013.

The convenience sample included 422 patients aged 2 years or older with ≥3 loose stools in a 24-hour period and no vomiting. Only 43% of patients had ≥10 loose stools in a 24-hour period, a traditional indicator of C. difficile infection. Overall, 41% of patients had at least one risk factor, def…