Clostridium difficile Screening for Colonization During an Outbreak Setting

Katherine Linsenmeyer; William O'Brien; Stephen M Brecher; Judith Strymish; Alexandra Rochman; Kamal Itani; Kalpana Gupta

doi:10.1093/cid/ciy455

Clostridium difficile Screening for Colonization During an Outbreak Setting

Clin Infect Dis. 2018 Nov 28;67(12):1912-1914. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy455.

Authors

Katherine Linsenmeyer^{1

2}, William O'Brien¹, Stephen M Brecher^{1

3}, Judith Strymish^{1

3}, Alexandra Rochman¹, Kamal Itani^{1

2}, Kalpana Gupta^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.
² Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
³ Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

PMID: 29846539
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciy455

Abstract

A rapidly deployed ward-based screen and isolate initiative for Clostridium difficile carriers during an outbreak averted 5 of 10 expected hospital-acquired infections without identified harms. Each infection avoided required screening 197 and isolating 4.4 patients. Targeted C. difficile screening resulted in outbreak mitigation.

MeSH terms

Aged
Boston
Carrier State / diagnosis*
Carrier State / microbiology
Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification
Clostridium Infections / diagnosis*
Clostridium Infections / prevention & control
Cross Infection / diagnosis*
Cross Infection / microbiology
Cross Infection / prevention & control
Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control*
Feces / microbiology
Female
Hospitalization
Hospitals
Humans
Male
Mass Screening*
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors