Aim: To study epidemiology and risk factors for Clostridium infection (CDI) associated with Clostridium difficile in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Materials and methods: 1179 medical records were analyzed in a retrospective study of patients with IBD, of which 764 patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the presence of a preliminary diagnosis of CDI. Statistical analysis was carried out using Pearson Chi-square and two-sample t-test.
Results: The incidence of CDI in patients with IBD was 17.3%, with the same prevalence in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) (n=53/40.1%) and ulcerative colitis (UC) (n=79/59.9%). The mean age of occurrence of CDI in patients with IBD was 37.8±12.9, 84.8% of infections were community-acquired and only 4.5% occurred in medical institutions. Only 21.2% of all patients with CDI had a history of antibiotic use, and 24.2% had previously used steroids. Long-term immunosuppressive therapy in patients with IBD has an impact on the development of CDI: among patients with CDI 45.5% long-term received azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine, in patients without IBD - 17.7% (p<0.001). 18% of patients with CDI had control of the disease with salicylate therapy, while 62% of patients without CDI achieved remission by taking salicylates (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The prevalence of CDI in UC and CD is comparable (p=0.16). The study shows that patients with IBD are more sensitive to the development of CDI at a young age, while not having such traditional risk factors as recent hospitalization or antibiotic use. Patients with IBD with CDI in history often noted the ineffectiveness of therapy with salicylates, often require the assignment of biological therapy. IBD patients with CDI have a lower average albumin, and a higher activity of the inflammatory process.
Keywords: Clostridium infection; inflammatory bowel disease.