Clostridium difficile Infection: Analysis of 5-Year Data in an Italian University Hospital

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections. It causes a variety of diseases ranging from diarrhea to megatoxic colon and also death. Over the last twenty years, the frequency and severity of this infection have globally increased and this requires the implementation of its surveillance in hospitals. In this study, were enrolled all fecal samples arriving in the microbiology laboratory of the San Giovanni di Dio and Ruggi d'Aragona university hospital from January 2019 to December 2023 to be tested for Clostridium difficile toxins via an enzyme immunoassay. Then, were evaluated the positive samples, the gender and age group from which they came as well as the hospital departments in which the infection was mostly found. Out of a total of 3210 total samples, 10.4% tested positive and was mostly from female and the >75 age group. The medical wards (86.2%) are the largest fraction of departments from which the majority of positive samples were received. Since the transmission of CDI is mostly nosocomial, it is important to understand that the compliance of healthcare workers is the highlight of the measures to prevent transmission and that monitoring and surveillance of this infection is essential.