Risk Factors for Relapse and Mortality of Clostridium Difficile-Associated Diarrhea

AIM: The aim of the present paper was to identify prognostic factors for relapse and mortality in patients with hospital-acquired infections caused by Clostridium difficile.MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 133 patients with healthcare facility-associated disease caused by C. difficile. The medical records of all patients with their clinical history and laboratory data were analyzed.RESULTS: Patients with one onset of disease were 105 (78.9%), 28 (21.1%) experienced a relapse and seven (5.2%) patients not survived infection. The average age in our patients was over 65 years (64.5 years in the survived patients and 78.8 in patient who died, p = 0.01). All of patients had received antibiotic treatment (cephalosporins – 83.4%, aminoglycosides – 21.5% and penicillins – 20.3%) and 40.6% of patients received acid-reducing therapy. There was no difference between patients with one onset of disease/patients with relaps; and survived/died in number of administered antibiotics, duration of administration, administration of acid-reducing treatment or length of hospital stay (p > 0.05). CRP levels were significantly higher in the group of patients who died compared with recovered (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION:  C. difficile-associated diarrhea is a common nosocomial disease with high relapse, and significant mortality rate particularly in the elderly