Impact of a multipronged approach to reduce the incidence of Clostridioides difficile infections in hospitalized patients

Background: Effective approaches to reduce Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) in hospitalized patients are needed. We report data from 3 years preceding and 3 years following interventions that proved successful, with detailed analysis of all cases the first year after implementation. Methods: Interventions included a nursing protocol to identify cases present on admission by asking if the patient had 1 or more liquid stools in the last 24 hours, and a 2-step testing algorithm with samples positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the C. difficile toxin gene reflexing to an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the toxin antigen. Results: Healthcare-associated infections due to CDI fell from ∼160 in each of the preceding 3 years to <65 in each of the subsequent 3 years (P < .001), while the ratio of observed-to-expected hospital-onset cases diminished to ∼0.50 (P < .02). In the first year, 395 samples were PCR(+), but only 118 (29.9%) of these were EIA(+). 55 (46.6%) of the PCR(+)/EIA(+) samples were from hospital day 1 or 2 and classified as present on admission. The mean time from stool collection to report of PCR results was ∼7.5 hours, and the EIA took on average only 68 additional minutes to be reported. Conclusions: The number of incident CDI cases can be dramatically decreased by implementing an admission screening question and a 2-step testing algorithm.