Health
C. diff among hospitalized patients becomes more common
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 12, 2008
The number of patients in hospital with a diagnosis of Clostridium difficile increased dramatically from 2001 to 2005, according to a report issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in April.
The authors culled data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, finding that the number of hospitalized patients with this infection increased by 102% from 2001 to 2005 but only 74% from 1993 to 2001. The infection was associated with a tripling of the length of a hospital stay and raising the death rate 4.5 times.
It's unclear whether the infections were acquired in or out of the hospital setting, but the authors note that this is an important public health problem.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/05/12/hlbf0512.htm.