Risk of complications and mortality following recurrent and non-recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection: a retrospective observational database study in England.

BACKGROUND: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) increases the risk of complications and mortality. We assessed the magnitude of these outcomes in a large cohort of English patients with initial and recurrent CDI. AIM: To compare the risk of complications and all-cause mortality, within 12 months, among hospitalized patients ≥18 years old with hospital-associated- (HA-) CDI and recurrent CDI. METHODS: Patients with HA-CDI during 2002-2013 were identified using inpatient hospital data linked to primary care and death data. Each HA-CDI case was frequency matched to two hospitalized patients without CDI on age group, sex, calendar year of admission, admission method and number of hospital care episodes. A second CDI episode starting on days 13-56 was defined as recurrence. Risks of mortality and complications at 12 months were analysed using Cox proportional hazard models. FINDINGS: We included 6862 patients with HA-CDI and 13,724 without CDI. Median age was 81.0 years (IQR 71.0-87.0). Patients with HA-CDI had more comorbidities than those without CDI, and significantly higher risks of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.77 (1.67-1.87)) and complications (1.66 (1.46-1.88)) within 12 months from hospital admission. Of those with HA-CDI, 1140 (16.6%) experienced CDI recurrence. Patients with recurrent versus non-recurrent CDI also had significantly increased risk of mortality (1.32 (1.20-1.45)) and complications (1.37 (1.01-1.84)) in the 12 months from the initial CDI. CONCLUSIONS: HA-CDI (versus no CDI) and recurrent CDI are both associated with significantly higher risks of complications or death within 12 months of the initial CDI episode.

Childhood housing conditions and later mortality in the Boyd Orr cohort.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between five measures of housing conditions during childhood and subsequent mortality from all causes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer. DESIGN: Historical cohort study. SETTING: Data on housing conditions were collected from survey centres in 16 areas of England and Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: Children of families participating in the Carnegie Survey of Family Diet and Health in pre-war Britain (1937-1939). Analyses are based on a subset of 4168 people who were traced and alive on 1 January 1948. MAIN RESULTS: Poorer housing conditions were generally associated with increased adult mortality. After adjustment for childhood and adult socioeconomic factors, statistically significant associations were only found between lack of private indoor tapped water supply and increased mortality from coronary heart disease (hazard ratio 1.73, (95% CI 1.13, 2.64); and between poor ventilation and overall mortality (hazard ratio for people from households with poorest ventilation relative to best ventilation 1.30, 95% CI 0.97, 1.74). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that associations between housing conditions in childhood and mortality from common diseases in adulthood are not strong, but are in some respects distinguishable from those of social deprivation.

Mycobacterial infections: guidelines for reporting and revised format for presentation.

A new format for the presentation of mycobacterial infections appears in the accompanying CDR Weekly (Communicable Disease Report 1995; 5:22). To ensure accuracy and consistency in the collation of information about mycobacterial infections, the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre has developed guidelines for reporting and has adopted definitions for the classification of sites of infection. These guidelines and definitions are published here for the first time.

Interaction of aluminium citrate with horse spleen ferritin.

Horse spleen ferritin was found to bind aluminium poorly after equilibrium dialysis with buffered aluminium citrate solutions. Not more than 10 aluminium atoms/ferritin molecule were bound from a 25 microM-aluminium solution, pH 7.4, and the degree of binding was dependent on the method used to prepare the aluminium citrate solution. Up to 120 aluminium atoms/molecule were bound when ferritin iron cores were reconstituted by the addition of 3000 Fe atoms to apoferritin in the presence of aluminium citrate. Comparison of previously published binding constants of ferritin and citrate for aluminium suggests that, in the cell, the prevalence of small ligands effectively prevents the association of large amounts of aluminium with ferritin.

Influenza surveillance in England and Wales: October 1996 to June 1997.

This report summarises information collected for the surveillance of influenza in England and Wales during the winter of 1996/97. Consultations for 'influenza and influenza-like illness' with sentinel general practitioners in England and Wales began to increase towards the end of November and peaked at the start of January. In England, consultations for 'aggregated respiratory disease' (ARD) began to increase a little earlier, perhaps as a result of increased respiratory syncytial virus activity, but also peaked in early January. Influenza A (H3N2) viruses were first detected in early October, but rarely until November, and activity peaked in early January, coinciding with the peak in consultations for flu-like illness. A few influenza B viruses were detected in late November and early December, and substantial activity was recorded in mid-January. Approximately equal numbers of influenza A(H3N2) and B viruses were identified over the winter as a whole, and circulating strains were antigenically similar to those included in the vaccine for 1996/97. Although influenza activity was 'moderate' in terms of consultations and laboratory confirmed infections, a large peak in death registrations occurred at the same time as influenza A(H3N2) virus activity peaked. The number of deaths during the winter was similar to that seen in 1989/90, when the last severe influenza epidemic occurred in England and Wales.

Surveillance of small round structured virus (SRSV) infection in England and Wales, 1990-5.

Data from the national surveillance scheme for general outbreaks of intestinal disease, and the national laboratory reporting scheme were used to describe the epidemiology of small round structured virus (SRSV) infections in England and Wales. Between 1990 and 1995, there were 7492 laboratory reports of SRSV. Rates of reported illness were highest among infants, young children and the elderly. During 1992-5, some 707 SRSV outbreaks were reported. Outbreaks in hospital wards and residential facilities for the elderly accounted for 76% of the total, and annual numbers increased more than sixfold over the study period. There were wide regional variations in the numbers of SRSV outbreaks and laboratory reports. Both sporadic cases and outbreaks in the community are likely to be underestimated, but these passive surveillance systems provide an insight into the burden of SRSV infection among the institutionalized elderly.

Influenza surveillance, England and Wales: October 1993 to June 1994.

This report summarises the information obtained by surveillance of influenza activity in England and Wales from 30 October 1993 to 24 June 1994 (weeks 93/44 to 94/25). A moderate epidemic of influenza occurred, which was earlier than in recent years. It followed an increase in influenza activity reported in Scotland in early October. Activity spread from north to south. Influenza A(H3N2) viruses accounted for over 98% of isolates typed, but a few strains of influenza B were identified.

Legionnaires' disease surveillance: England and Wales, 1993.

One hundred and twenty-nine cases of legionnaires' disease were reported in England and Wales in 1993. Twenty-two of the cases died. Sixty-six cases (51%) were associated with travel (in the United Kingdom or abroad), six were associated with a stay in hospital, and the remaining 57 were thought to have acquired infection in the community. Two community and two hospital outbreaks were recognised in England and Wales and four outbreaks were detected in travellers from the United Kingdom to Spain, Greece, and the United States. One hundred and six cases (82%) were not known to have been associated with outbreaks, and 51 (40%) of these were not associated with travel or hospitals.

Epidemiological features of parainfluenza virus infections: laboratory surveillance in England and Wales, 1975-1997.

Hospital laboratory reports of parainfluenza virus (PIV) infections from England and Wales between 1975 and 1997 were analysed with regard to PIV type and seasonality, and in addition, those between 1985 1997 with regard to age, sex and clinical features. Laboratory-based surveillance data highlight striking differences in the seasonality of different PIV types. PIV-3 reports demonstrated a clear annual epidemic cycle, with a peak usually occurring in late spring or summer, whereas peaks of PIV-1 and PIV-2 occurred at one or two year intervals, in the late autumn or early winter. PIV-4 also occurred most frequently in the late autumn or early winter, but a clear epidemic cycle could not be identified. Laboratory surveillance data also provide insight into the age and disease distribution of PIV infection in children and indicate severity of PIV infection in immunosuppressed adults. Of 8221 PIV reports received between 1985-1997, PIV-3 accounted for 70.8%, PIV-1 for 17.2%, PIV-2 for 7.5%, and PIV-4 for 1.1%; 64.1% of reports came from infants under one year, 24.4% from children aged 1-4 years and 7.2% from individuals aged 5 years or older, with an excess of males in all age groups. Bronchiolitis, croup and pneumonia occurred in association with all PIV types. In children under 1 year, PIV-2 infections were more likely to be associated with bronchiolitis than infections with other PIV types. In children under 15 years, croup was more frequently associated with PIV-1 and PIV-2 than with PIV-3 or PIV-4. In 392 (7.2%) of the reported PIV infections between 1989 and 1997 an underlying condition was implicated, which included immunosuppression or chronic cardiac or pulmonary disease. Considerable morbidity is associated with PIV infections in infants and young children and would make the widescale use of a vaccine a valuable public health intervention. Surveillance information is essential to guide the development and use of preventive measures as well as to monitor their effectiveness.

Birthweight and aerobic fitness in adolescents: the Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project.

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between aerobic fitness and birthweight in adolescents. A representative cohort of 1015 males and females aged 12 and 15 y was studied, at baseline, with 89% of the 12-y-olds being re-examined 3 y later. The main outcome measures were an index of aerobic fitness, measured in laps completed at voluntary exhaustion by a twenty-metre shuttle run test, and recorded birthweight. Multiple linear regression, with and without adjustment for known and potential confounding variables, was performed to examine associations between fitness and birthweight. Birthweight and aerobic fitness were positively related so that for each kg decrease in birthweight, there was a mean (95% confidence interval) decrease in fitness score of 4.84 (0.35 to 9.33) laps and 3.21 (0.32 to 6.10) laps, in 12-y-old boys and girls respectively. This relationship is of a similar order to the strength of association between birthweight and adult blood pressure previously reported. Associations between birthweight and physical fitness at the age of 15 were weaker and were not significant. Our findings suggest that aerobic fitness may be involved in mediating the association between birthweight and cardiovascular disease risk later in life. The weakening of the association between birthweight and fitness between the ages of 12 and 15 y is similar to the weaker associations between birthweight and blood pressure seen among adolescents compared to younger children. We are currently re-examining this cohort to see if, as with blood pressure, the association with fitness re-emerges at an older age.

Legionnaires' disease surveillance: England and Wales 1994.

One hundred and sixty cases of legionnaires' disease in England and Wales were reported to the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre in 1994, a rate of 3.1 cases per million population. Twenty-seven cases died. Eighty-nine cases (56%) were associated with travel, either in the United Kingdom (UK) or abroad, and six with a stay in hospital; the remaining cases were presumed to have acquired infection in the community. Seven outbreaks were detected in England and Wales: one was associated with a holiday centre, one with a hotel in London, two with industrial sites, and three occurred in the community. A further four clusters were associated with travel abroad: Spain, Ibiza, the Channel Islands, and a Mediterranean cruise. One hundred and twenty-eight of the 160 cases (79%) were sporadic--that is, not known to be associated with outbreaks--43 of which (34%) were not associated with travel nor acquired in hospital.

Influenza surveillance in England and Wales: October 1997 to June 1998.

Influenza caused low levels of mortality and morbidity in England and Wales in the 1997/98 season. Influenza viruses of the H3N2 and H1N1 subtypes were isolated in small numbers from community and hospital patients in November and December. Their numbers subsequently increased to peak in February, H1N1 a week or two before H3N2. Most of the H1N1 isolates were similar to the A/Bayern/7/95-like virus, included in the vaccine recommended for 1997-98, whereas most H3N2 isolates were A/Sydney/5/97-like, a virus not covered by the season's vaccine but recommended for 1998/99. Consultation rates in general practice for influenza-like illnesses remained low until early February, when a small increase coincided with the increase in laboratory confirmed influenza. Fewer deaths directly attributed to influenza were registered during the surveillance period than in recent years. Localised outbreaks occurred in schools and nursing homes towards the end of the winter.

Iron and aluminium in relation to brain ferritin in normal individuals and Alzheimer's-disease and chronic renal-dialysis patients.

Ferritin has been isolated and its subunit composition, iron and aluminium content determined in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of normal individuals and in the cerebral cortex of Alzheimer's-disease and renal-dialysis patients. An e.l.i.s.a. for ferritin has been developed and the ferritin, non-haem iron and aluminium content of the parietal cortex were determined in normal individuals and Alzheimer's-disease patients. It was found that ferritin from the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of normal individuals had a high H-subunit content, similar to that of heart ferritin. The subunit composition of ferritin isolated from the cerebral cortex was not significantly altered in Alzheimer's-disease or renal-dialysis patients. Ferritin from the cerebral cortex of normal individuals had only approx. 1500 atoms of iron per molecule and the iron content of ferritin was not significantly changed in Alzheimer's-disease or renal-dialysis patients. Ferritin isolated from the cerebral cortex of normal, Alzheimer's-disease and renal-dialysis patients had less than 9 atoms of aluminium per molecule. The failure to find increased concentrations of aluminium associated with ferritin in dialysis patients, who had markedly increased concentrations of aluminium in the cerebral cortex, shows that aluminium does not accumulate in ferritin in vivo. This has important implications for the toxicity of aluminium, since it implies that cells are unable to detoxify aluminium by the same mechanism as that available for iron. Comparison of the concentrations of ferritin, aluminium and iron in the parietal cortex from normal and Alzheimer's-disease patients showed that, whereas the concentration of aluminium was not increased, both ferritin and iron were significantly increased in Alzheimer's disease.