ROCHESTER, Minn., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mayo Clinic researchers
have found that a sometimes deadly stomach bug, Clostridium difficile,
(http://www.mayoclinic.org/c-difficile/) is on the rise in outpatient
settings. Clostridium difficile is a serious bacteria that can cause symptoms
ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. These
findings were presented today at the 2009 American College of Gastroenterology
(ACG) Annual Meeting in San Diego.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090105/MAYOLOGO )
VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources are available on the Mayo
Clinic News Blog.
(http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/10/26/deadly-stomach-infection-rising-in-community-settings).
Clostridium difficile, often called C. difficile or "C. diff", is a bacterium
that is resistant to some antibiotics and is most often contracted by the
elderly in hospitals and nursing homes.
"Recent reports have shown increasing incidence and severity of C. difficile
infection -- especially in the older population," says Darrell Pardi, M.D.,
(http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/12035106.html) Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist
and senior author on the study. "Our study examines why the cases are on the
rise and who is getting the infection."
In this population-based study, researchers studied 385 cases of C. difficile
bacterial infection from 1991-2005 to determine how many cases were
hospital-acquired versus community-acquired infections. Of the cases, 192 were
hospital-acquired and 35 were residents of nursing homes. Of these
hospital-acquired cases, the median age of infection was 72 years; in
contrast, 158 cases were community-acquired and the median age was 50 years.
Thirty-five percent of the hospital infections had a severe illness compared
to 22 percent of community infections who had a severe illness.
The patients with community-acquired infection were also less likely than the
hospital-acquired group to have been exposed to antibiotics before their
infection. Thus, many of the community-acquired infections lacked the
traditional risk factors for infection, namely recent hospitalization and
exposure to antibiotics.
There were no differences between community- and hospital-acquired infections
in terms of what patients were treated with (primarily metronidazole),
response rates, or recurrence rates after treatment.
"We are seeing more cases of C. difficile in the community, but they tend to
be less severe and in a younger population," says Dr. Pardi. "The growing
incidence of C. difficile infection in both inpatient and outpatient settings
could be linked to the increasing usage of antibiotics and to the possibility
that C. difficile may be getting resistant to some of our newer antibiotics."
There are hundreds of kinds of bacteria found normally in the intestines. Many
play beneficial roles in the body. When a patient takes an antibiotic to treat
an infection, it often destroys beneficial bacteria as well as the bacteria
that are causing the illness. Without enough healthy bacteria, dangerous
pathogens such as C. difficile can quickly grow out of control. Once it takes
hold, C. difficile can produce two virulent toxins that attack the lining of
the intestine.
"Doctors have gotten better at spotting C. difficile in hospitals and nursing
homes; however, now doctors and patients need to be more aware that you can
get this infection as an outpatient and that a case of diarrhea or abdominal
cramps at home could become serious," says Dr. Pardi.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year in the
United States, C. difficile is responsible for tens of thousands of diarrhea
cases and at least 5,000 deaths.
Mayo Clinic's Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
(http://www.mayoclinic.org/gi/) has been ranked #1 in the U.S. News & World
Report Honor Roll of Top Hospitals since the rankings began 20 years ago.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice
in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for
patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the
patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers
and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in
Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.
Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each
year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to
www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education, visit
www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource
for your health stories.
SOURCE Mayo Clinic
Amy Tieder of the Mayo Clinic, +1-507-284-5005 (days), +1-507-284-2511
(evenings), newsbureau@mayo.edu
