A fifth of patients admitted with Clostridium difficile infections were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, according to a new study.
Approximately 8,200 patients--about 21 percent--of the 38,000 patients who were admitted to hospitals in 2013 with C. diff infections were readmitted within 30 days, according to research presented this week at the American College of Gastroenterology’s annual meeting. About 2,200 patients were readmitted with a primary diagnosis of C. diff infection, according to MedPage Today's coverage of the conference.
"For people who have C. diff, it's like a revolving door," said Colleen R. Kelly, M.D., a gastroenterologist in the Center for Women’s Gastrointestinal Medicine at the Women’s Medicine Collaborative, told the publication. "We know that C. diff has a high rate of occurrence. In just the first episode of C. diff there's a 25 percent chance that it will come back again and once you've had C. diff one or two times, each subsequent time there is a greater risk of occurrence."
Lead study author Vijay Dalapathi, M.D., Mount Sinai St. Luke's-West Hospital in New York City, said the findings may be lower than the actual figures because of underreporting.