Screening for Clostridium difficile colonization on admission to a hematopoietic stem cell transplant unit may reduce hospital-acquired C difficile infection

Janice Cho; Maria Teresa Seville; Sahil Khanna; Darrell S Pardi; Priya Sampathkumar; Purna C Kashyap

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2017.10.009

Screening for Clostridium difficile colonization on admission to a hematopoietic stem cell transplant unit may reduce hospital-acquired C difficile infection

Am J Infect Control. 2018 Apr;46(4):459-461. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2017.10.009. Epub 2017 Nov 21.

Authors

Janice Cho¹, Maria Teresa Seville², Sahil Khanna³, Darrell S Pardi³, Priya Sampathkumar⁴, Purna C Kashyap⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
² Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ.
³ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
⁴ Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 29169936
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2017.10.009

Abstract

Clostridium difficile infection rates are higher in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplants. In our study, patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplants or chemotherapy were screened for C difficile colonization at admission and placed on contact precautions if they were positive. Patient's colonized with C difficile contribute to the overall burden of C difficile infection in hospitals.

Keywords: Contact precaution; Infection control; Surveillance.

MeSH terms

Aged
Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification*
Clostridium Infections / prevention & control*
Cross Infection / microbiology*
Cross Infection / prevention & control
Female
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation*
Hospital Units*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged