An Outbreak of Clostridium difficile Ribotype 027 Associated with Length of Stay in the Intensive Care Unit and Use of Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract: A Case Control Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

An outbreak of Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 infection (CDI) occurred at an university hospital, involving 19 departments. To determine what hospital-associated factors drove the outbreak of this particular strain we performed a case-control study.

Methods

Cases (n = 79), diagnosed with CDI due to C. difficile ribotype 027 were matched for age and treating medical specialty to four control patients (n = 316). Patients diagnosed with CDI due to other ribotypes were included as a second control group. A random selection of C. difficile ribotype 027 strains (n = 10) was genotyped by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).

Findings

WGS showed the outbreak was likely caused by a single strain of C. difficile (two or less single-nucleotide variants between isolates).

SUBMITTER: van Beurden YH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4988663 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature