Patterns of antibiotic use and risk of hospital admission because of Clostridium difficile infection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Previous observations have indicated that infection with Clostridium difficile occurs almost exclusively after exposure to antibiotics, but more recent observations have suggested that prior antibiotic exposure may be less frequent among cases of community-acquired disease.

Methods

We used 2 linked health databases to perform a matched, nested case-control study of elderly patients admitted to hospital with community-acquired C. difficile infection. For each of 836 cases among people 65 years of age or older, we selected 10 controls. We determined the proportion of cases that occurred without prior antibiotic exposure and estimated the risk related to exposure to different antibiotics and the duration of increased risk.

Results

Of the 836 cases, 442 (52.9%)

SUBMITTER: Dial S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2553880 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature