New CDC Study: C. difficile infection in children

New CDC Study: C. difficile infection in children

New CDC Study: C. difficile infection in children

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent this bulletin at 03/07/2014 03:08 PM EST

New CDC Study: C. difficile infection in children

CDC urges physicians to improve prescribing practices to reduce harm

The majority of pediatric Clostridium difficileinfections, which are bacterial infections that cause severe diarrhea and are potentially life-threatening, occur among children in the general community who recently took antibiotics prescribed in doctor’s offices for other conditions, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published this week in Pediatrics. 

The study showed that 71 percent of the cases of C. difficile infection identified among children aged 1 through 17 years were community-associated—that is, not associated with an overnight stay in a healthcare facility.  73 percent were prescribed antibiotics during the 12 weeks prior to their illness, usually in an outpatient setting such as a doctor’s office. 

C. difficile, which causes at least 250,000 infections in hospitalized patients and 14,000 deaths every year among children and adults, remains at all-time high levels.  According to preliminary CDC data, an estimated 17,000 children aged 1 through 17 years get C. difficile infections every year. 

Read the CDC press release: http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0307-severe-diarrheal-illness.html

Read the full study in Pediatrics:http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/25/peds.2013-3049

Read a story of mothers who have struggled with C. difficile infection in their children:http://blogs.cdc.gov/safehealthcare/2014/03/07/c-diff-in-our-kids-a-call-to-action/