Risk Factors for Clostridium Difficile Infection in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Clostridium difficile infections have had significant morbidity and mortality in the last decade leading to high healthcare costs. Our prospective case-control study from October 2013 to May 2015 in a tertiary care hospital in rural India aimed to evaluate the risk factors, treatment, outcome, and complications of Clostridium difficile infections in hospitalized patients. Materials and Methods: The study involved a total of 183 patients, of which 61 were cases, and 122 were controls. Data was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Antibiotic intake in the past four weeks (p=0.003), hypoalbuminemia (p=0.001) and duration of hospital stay before the onset of diarrhea (p<0.001) were proven to have significant risk. We subdivided cases into severe and non-severe cases, and we found that complications were statistically higher in severe cases (OR= 1.685, <0.001). Conclusion: Identifying severe cases and administering timely and appropriate treatment is prudent.