NICU Clostridioides difficile

Publication Date: August 29, 2018

Key Points

Key Points

  • Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is among the most prevalent and important healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) affecting children, but reports of CDI in infants <12 months of age are rare, perhaps because of a relative resistance to the effects of C. difficile toxins or other protective factors in the intestinal environment of infants.
  • Additionally, high colonization rates in infants (~35%) make interpretation of positive C. difficile tests in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) patients uniquely challenging.
  • For these reasons, the authors do not recommend routine testing for C. difficile in NICU patients.
    • NICU patients should be evaluated for other more common causes of diarrhea.

Diagnosis

Diagnos...

...esting for CDI The autho...


Prevention

Preventio...

...e In a nonoutbreak setting, there is n...


...tion Infants with diarrhea and a positiv...


...g and Disinfection Strategy Infants with...


...ing and Disinfection Strategy In endemic setting...