Clostridioides Difficile Bacterial Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) remain formidable pathogens that pose significant challenges to health care systems. This presentation will discuss clinical and leadership interventions facilities can implement to reduce hospital-acquired infections and improve organizational processes.

Patients using beds previously occupied by those with C. diff have a higher risk of infection. According to a study by Emory University, enhanced disinfection is essential to reduce this risk.

Annually, C. diff is responsible for around 500,000 infections and 48,700 deaths, and is listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the top five drug-resistant pathogens in need of aggressive action. This article summarizes recent drug therapies and advancements in care.

This research article explores the impact of using recommended chlorine chemicals to tackle Clostridioides difficile, the most common cause of antibiotic associated sickness in health care settings globally.

This webinar from the American Hospital Association examines the limitations of current interventions to prevent transmission of Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections in hospitals, in addition to reviewing results of the first-ever controlled study of a single type of intervention—optimized environmental hygiene—to decrease the transmission of C. diff. by 50 percent.

Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors study a case example of a hospital using technology to reduce CDI rates in this presentation and discuss how these techniques can be generalized in the application of technology to address infection prevention challenges beyond CDI.

This document, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides information on the basic principles and interventions recommended for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in acute care facilities. The strategies are intended to facilitate implementation of CDI prevention efforts by state and local health departments, quality improvement organizations, hospital associations and health care facilities.

This tool, prepared by Alliant Health Solutions, a Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor (HQIC), helps hospitals provide safer patient care by completing an assessment to identify process improvement opportunities. Hospitals can use the results to develop specific strategies to address gaps and identify resource needs.

Hospitals can use this quality improvement tool from Telligen to complete a root-cause analysis of CDI cases in their facilities to identify trends in infection prevention practices and target opportunities for preventing future CDI cases.

The C. diff Coaching Package provides evidence-based best practices and resources to help hospitals create quality improvement action plans.

View presentations from the 2022 annual National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) live training on how to identify, report, and analyze VAE, PedVAE, CAUTI, CLABSI, Secondary Bloodstream Infection (BSI) and Site-Specific Infections, SSI, MRSA Bacteremia and C. difficile LabID events, as well as presentations on validation of healthcare-associated infection data, and reporting and analysis of antibiotic use and resistance data.

Hospitals can use this tracer tool to survey and evaluate their processes for C. difficile infections, with the goal of providing safe, high-quality patient care.

A checklist for hospitals to review current interventions, or initiate new ones, to prevent CDI in your facility.

The Process Improvement Discovery Tool is meant to help hospitals provide safer patient care by completing an assessment to identify process improvement opportunities for preventing Clostridioides Defficile infections (CDI).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information and recommended interventions for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in acute care facilities.