RESUMEN
The prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has increased rapidly over the past several decades in North America and Europe. However, the exact global epidemiology remains unclear because of insufficient data from developing countries. A total of 646 hospitalized adult IBD patients were enrolled; and their fresh stool specimens were obtained and used for Clostridium difficile detection. The incidence of CDI in Crohn's disease (CD) patients (12.7%) was significantly lower than that in Ulcerative disease (UC) patients (19.3%). Among the toxin types, A(+)B(+) strain was the most common. Length of stay, hospitalization frequency and bowel surgery rate were significantly higher in the CDI than in the non-CDI group in CD or UC patients. More patients in CDI-CD group were still in active and even clinical moderate or severe CD stage than non-CDI-CD group after 2 years of following-up. Fistula, antibiotics and infliximab usage likely increased the CDI rate in CD patients, Infliximab treatment was considered a risk factor in UC patients. CDI is an exacerbating public health issue that may influence IBD course, increase expenditures, and delay the remission of IBD patients. IBD patients with CDI require urgent attention.