1. Frequency of stool specimen collection and testing for Clostridioides difficile of hospitalized adults and long-term care facility residents with new-onset diarrhea in Louisville, Kentucky
- Author
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Frederick J. Angulo, Senén Peña Oliva, Ruth Carrico, Stephen Furmanek, Joann Zamparo, Elisa Gonzalez, Sharon Gray, Kimbal D. Ford, David Swerdlow, Jennifer C. Moïsi, and Julio Ramirez
- Subjects
Clostridioides difficile ,Epidemiology ,Diarrhea ,Specimen collection ,Underdiagnosis ,Disease burden ,Infectious and parasitic diseases ,RC109-216 - Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the stool specimen collection and Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) testing frequency from inpatients and long-term care facility (LTCF) residents with new-onset diarrhea. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in all wards of 9 adult hospitals (3532 beds) and 14 LTCFs (1205 beds) in Louisville, Kentucky to identify new-onset diarrhea (≥3 loose stools in the past 24 h and not present in the preceding 24 h) among Louisville adults via electronic medical record review, nurse interviews, and patient interviews during a 1–2 week observation period in 2018–2019. Results: Among Louisville-resident inpatients, 167 patients with 9731 inpatient-days had new-onset diarrhea (1.7/100 inpatient-days). Stool specimens were collected from 32% (53/167); 12 (23%) specimens were laboratory-confirmed for C. difficile infection (CDI) (12.3 cases/10,000 inpatient-days). Among LTCF residents, 63 with 10,402 LTCF resident-days had new-onset diarrhea (0.6/100 LTCF resident-days). Stool specimens were collected from 32% (20/63); 9 (45%) specimens were laboratory-confirmed for CDI (8.6 cases/10,000 LTCF resident-days). Conclusions: New-onset diarrhea was common among inpatients and LTCF residents. Only one-third of patients with new-onset diarrhea had a stool specimen collected and tested for C. difficile—indicative of a potential CDI underdiagnosis—although, further studies are needed to confirm the extent of CDI underdiagnosis.
- Published
- 2022
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