Impact of a reduction in the use of high-risk antibiotics on the course of an epidemic of Clostridium difficile-associated disease caused by the hypervirulent napi/027 strain. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 45(Supplement 2):Si12-Si21

Abstract

A series of measures were implemented, in a secondary/tertiary-care hospital in Quebec, to control an epidemic of nosocomial Clostridium difficile-associated disease (n-CDAD) caused by a virulent strain; these measures included the development of a nonrestrictive antimicrobial stewardship program. Interrupted time-series analysis was used to evaluate the impact of these measures on n-CDAD incidence. ), but implementation of the antimicrobial stewardship program was followed by P p .63 a marked reduction in incidence ( ). This suggests that nonrestrictive measures to optimize antibiotic P p .007 usage can yield exceptional results when physicians are motivated and that such measures should be a mandatory component of n-CDAD control. The inefficacy of infection control measures targeting transmission through hospital personnel might be a result of their implementation late in the epidemic, when the environment was heavily contaminated with spores