Epidemiology and Outcomes of Patients With Healthcare Facility-Onset Clostridioides difficile Infection.

BACKGROUND: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has become a rising public health threat. Our study aims to characterize the epidemiology and measure the attributable cost, length of stay, and in-hospital mortality of healthcare facility-onset Clostridioides difficile infection (HO-CDI) among patients in the U.S. Military Health System (MHS). METHODS: We performed a case-control and cross-sectional inpatient study of HO-CDI using MHS database billing records. Cases included those who were at least 18 years of age admitted to a military treatment facility with a stool sample positive for C. difficile obtained >3 days after admission. Risk factors in the preceding year were identified. Patient case-mix adjusted outcomes including in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and hospitalization cost were evaluated by high-dimensional propensity score adjusted logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 474,518 admissions within the MHS from 2008 to 2015, we identified 591 (0.12%) patients with HO-CDI and found a significant increase in the trend of HO-CDI over the 7-year study period (P < .001). Patients with HO-CDI had significantly higher hospitalization cost (attributable difference $66,044, P < .001), prolonged hospital stay (attributable difference 12.4 days, P < 0.001), and increased odds of in-hospital mortality (case-mix adjusted odds ratio 1.98; 95% CI, 1.43-2.74). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare facility-onset Clostridioides difficile infection is rising in patients within the MHS and is associated with increased length of stay, hospital costs, and in-hospital mortality. We identified a significantly increased burden of hospitalization among patients admitted with HO-CDI, highlighting the importance of infection control and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives aimed at decreasing the spread of this pathogen.

Absence of neutralizing antibodies against influenza A/H5N1 virus among children in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Influenza A/H5N1 actively circulated in Kamphaeng Phet (KPP), Thailand from 2004 to 2006. A prospective longitudinal cohort study of influenza virus infection in 800 adults conducted during 2008-2010 in KPP suggested that subclinical or mild H5N1 infections had occurred among this adult cohort. However, this study was conducted after the peak of H5N1 activity in KPP. Coincidentally, banked serum samples were available from a prospective longitudinal cohort study of primary school children who had undergone active surveillance for febrile illnesses from 2004 to 2007 and lived in the same district of KPP as the adult cohort. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate whether subclinical or mild H5N1 infections had occurred among KPP residents during the peak of H5N1 activity from 2004 to 2006. STUDY DESIGN: H5N1 microneutralization (MN) assay was performed on banked serum samples from a prospective longitudinal cohort study of primary school children who had undergone active surveillance for febrile illnesses in KPP. Annual blood samples collected from 2004 to 2006 from 251 children were selected based on the criteria that they lived in villages with documented H5N1 infection. RESULT: No H5N1 neutralizing antibodies were detected in 753 annual blood samples from 251 children. CONCLUSION: During 2004-2006, very few subclinical or mild H5N1 infections occurred in KPP. Elevated H5N1 MN titers found in the adult cohort in 2008 were likely due to cross-reactivity from other influenza virus subtypes highlighting the complexities in interpreting influenza serological data.