Baseline characteristics among patient admissions with versus without Clostridium difficile infection
| No C. difficile (n=651 555) N (%) | C. difficile (n=2341) N (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristic | ||
| Age group (years) | ||
| 1–10 | 26 063 (4.0%) | 28 (1.2%) |
| 11–17 | 18 523 (2.8%) | 23 (1.0%) |
| 18–44 | 210 095 (32.2%) | 189 (8.1%) |
| 45–64 | 149 632 (23.0%) | 454 (19.4%) |
| 65–74 | 90 108 (13.8%) | 389 (16.6%) |
| 75–84 | 96 533 (14.8%) | 674 (28.8%) |
| ≥85 | 60 601 (9.3%) | 584 (24.9%) |
| Female sex | 403 609 (61.9%) | 1371 (58.6%) |
| Admission type | ||
| Medical | 266 943 (41.0%) | 1909 (81.5%) |
| Surgical | 218 267 (33.5%) | 379 (16.2%) |
| Obstetrical or other | 166 345 (25.5%) | 53 (2.3%) |
| Elective admission | 253 736 (38.9%) | 202 (8.6%) |
| Infection as most responsible diagnosis | 48 847 (7.5%) | 262 (11.2%) |
| Previous diagnoses | ||
| Myocardial infarction | 27 173 (4.2%) | 155 (6.6%) |
| Congestive heart failure | 30 741 (4.7%) | 346 (14.8%) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 9782 (1.5%) | 102 (4.4%) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 20 431 (3.1%) | 144 (6.2%) |
| Dementia | 20 015 (3.1%) | 241 (10.3%) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 38 879 (6.0%) | 286 (12.2%) |
| Rheumatological disease | 3951 (0.6%) | 35 (1.5%) |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 4450 (0.7%) | 57 (2.4%) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 91 592 (14.1%) | 572 (24.4%) |
| Hemiparesis/paraplegia | 55 749 (8.6%) | 294 (12.6%) |
| Renal disease | 7290 (1.1%) | 88 (3.8%) |
| Malignancy | 3955 (0.6%) | 48 (2.1%) |
| Liver disease | 15 616 (2.4%) | 200 (8.5%) |
| Inflammatory bowel disease | 4913 (0.8%) | 43 (1.8%) |
| HIV or other immunocompromise | 4934 (0.8%) | 66 (2.8%) |
| Healthcare exposure in preceding 8 weeks | ||
| Hospital admission* | 9571 (1.5%) | 139 (5.9%) |
| Emergency department visit | 194 621 (29.9%) | 1161 (49.6%) |
| Past gastrointestinal procedure | 17 499 (2.7%) | 104 (4.4%) |
| Same-day surgery procedure | 36 206 (5.6%) | 152 (6.5%) |
| Nursing home stay | 1851 (0.3%) | 27 (1.2%) |
| Haemodialysis | 4192 (0.6%) | 53 (2.3%) |
| Chemotherapy | 11 060 (1.7%) | 73 (3.1%) |
| Homecare treatment | 79 564 (12.2%) | 723 (30.9%) |
| Recent diagnosis of infection | 196 828 (30.2%) | 1190 (50.8%) |
| Calendar month of admission | ||
| January | 49 975 (7.7%) | 164 (7.0%) |
| February | 47 838 (7.3%) | 169 (7.2%) |
| March | 50 275 (7.7%) | 156 (6.7%) |
| April | 66 767 (10.2%) | 353 (15.1%) |
| May | 63 047 (9.7%) | 256 (10.9%) |
| June | 59 250 (9.1%) | 231 (9.9%) |
| July | 54 464 (8.4%) | 198 (8.5%) |
| August | 52 474 (8.1%) | 204 (8.7%) |
| September | 52 995 (8.1%) | 138 (5.9%) |
| October | 52 780 (8.1%) | 164 (7.0%) |
| November | 51 594 (7.9%) | 157 (6.7%) |
| December | 50 096 (7.7%) | 151 (6.5%) |
| Hospital characteristic | ||
| Hospital type | ||
| Academic/teaching | 207 942 (31.9%) | 746 (31.9%) |
| Large community | 248 377 (38.1%) | 869 (37.1%) |
| Medium community | 118 463 (18.2%) | 497 (21.2%) |
| Small community | 76 773 (11.8%) | 229 (9.8%) |
| Proportion of beds in single-bed rooms | ||
| <25% | 193 195 (29.7%) | 638 (27.3%) |
| 25%–35% | 81 843 (12.6%) | 324 (13.8%) |
| >35% | 245 677 (37.7%) | 890 (38.0%) |
| Not available | 130 840 (20.1%) | 489 (20.9%) |
| Hospital processes of care | ||
| Immediate isolation for patients with diarrhoea | 222 265 (34.1%) | 735 (31.4%) |
| Audit of compliance for antibiotic stewardship | 195 921 (30.1%) | 748 (32.0%) |
| Audit of compliance of environmental cleaning | 562 104 (86.3%) | 2102 (89.8%) |
| Reporting to CEO or hospital board | 217 603 (33.4%) | 739 (31.6%) |
| On-site C. difficile diagnostic testing | 428 694 (65.8%) | 1482 (63.3%) |
| Use of vancomycin as first-line treatment | 73 284 (11.2%) | 288 (12.3%) |
*The study involved only the first hospital admission per patient in the study year, but patients enrolled in the first 8 weeks of the study period could have been hospitalised at the end of the preceding year.
CEO, chief executive officer.