Clostridium difficile infections are down 36% in Canadian hospitals: study

According to a new study, Clostridium difficile rates in Canadian hospitals have decreased by about 36% in recent years, indicating that increased attention to infection control measures like handwashing and antibiotic avoidance helps reduce the spread of nosocomial infections.

The study, published Monday in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, examined the trends of a large group of hospitals from 2009 to 2015 to determine whether efforts to contain the ## 147 39, pathogen progressed.

According to Kevin Katz, senior author and medical director of infection prevention and control at Toronto's North York General Hospital, researchers found that C. difficile rates fell significantly over the study period, a trend attributable to heightened vigilance in health facilities.

"It really has an impact," said Dr. Katz. "The work is not over, but it is definitely going in the right direction."

C. difficile is a bacterial infection and the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in Canadian hospitals and long-term care facilities. This can lead to serious illness and death. It affects older patients more often, and often takes over when people receive antibiotics that kill their healthy intestinal bacteria. The C. difficile strain NAP1, which is resistant to many antibiotics and known to cause more serious diseases, is the most common form of infection in Canada.

Infections associated with health care such as C. difficile and resistant to methicillin Staphylococcus aureus have emerged as a major threat over the past two decades. According to the chief public health officer of Canada, more than 200,000 Canadians get infections while receiving health care each year. Of this number, about 8,000 die accordingly. The vast majority of infections are transmitted by health care workers, patients and visitors, which is why infection control measures are so important.

During the study period, rates of the virulent NAP1 strain fell, but it remains the most common, said Dr. Katz. Hospitals that have the strain are more likely to see more serious cases, which is why it's important to stay focused on reducing the spread, he said.

The study was conducted by researchers participating in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program, which tracks bacterial infections with C. difficile and the like in Canadian health care settings.

Dina Kao, a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Alberta, said the decreasing rates of C. difficile in hospital are encouraging, but that the number of undetected cases in the community is another challenge.

Dr. Kao, who is also director of the Edmonton Fecal Transplant Program, used to treat C. difficile, said it's common for people to get infections at home after taking antibiotics. . Tracking these cases is a logistical challenge, but Dr. Kao said they seem to be on the rise.

"It's a very big problem," she said.

While hospitals have become very good at implementing measures in recent years to stop the spread of these infections, it is possible that community doctors and patients do not have the same message, did they? -she says.

For example, doctors should avoid giving unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics, and patients should learn not to ask for these drugs. In many cases, antibiotics are always prescribed when they are unnecessary, such as treating viral infections that go away on their own, because patients consult their doctor and insist on getting something to treat their symptoms, said Dr. Kao.

"It's everyone's responsibility," she said.