Vital Statistics
• Nearly 45,000 Americans died from CDI between 1999 and 2009.1
• Seniors are especially at risk. More than 90 percent of deaths from CDI in 2009 occurred in those 65 years and older.2
• The estimated annual costs of CDI to the U.S. economy may reach $1.8 billion each year, with median per-patient costs as high as $40,000.3
What Causes C. Diff-Related Infections?
C. diff resides in the intestines of up to 3 percent of healthy adults without causing any symptoms.4, 5
When a patient takes antibiotics to treat another infection, those drugs may alter the normal balance of intestinal bacteria, allowing C. diff to flourish and release toxins that can cause severe diarrhea and inflammation of the colon.6
Reports of C. diff-related infections (CDI) are increasing in populations that include pregnant women, children, and those who have not been under medical care.7, 8, 9, 10
Treatment Options
• To treat CDI, antibiotic use must be restricted to metronidazole or, if that fails, vancomycin. Resistance to metronidazole and intermediate resistance to vancomycin has been reported.11, 12
• In May 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved fidaxomicin, the first new antibiotic in more than 25 years to treat diarrhea caused by CDI.13, 14
• In severe cases, the only effective treatment for CDI is surgery to remove the infected portion of the patient’s intestines.15
Dowload the full PDF for more information
1 National Vital Statistics System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “GMWKI: Total deaths for each cause by 5-year age groups, United States, 1999-2006+,” last modified November 12, 2009, www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/gmwki.htm; J. Xu et al., “Deaths: Final Data for 2007,” National Vital Statistics Reports 58, no. 19 (2010); K.D. Kochanek et al., “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2009,” National Vital Statistics Reports 59, no. 4 (2011).
2 K.D. Kochanek et al., “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2009.”
3 S.M. McGlone et al., “The Economic Burden of Clostridium difficile,” Clin Microbiol Infect (2011).
4 R. Ricciardi et al., “Increasing Prevalence and Severity of Clostridium difficile Colitis in Hospitalized Patients in the United States,” Arch Surg 142, no. 7 (2007): 624-31; discussion 31.
5 F. Barbut and J.C. Petit, “Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile-Associated Infections,” Clin Microbiol Infect 7, no. 8 (2001): 405-10.
6 V.K. Viswanathan, M.J. Mallozzi, and G. Vedantam, “Clostridium difficile infection: An overview of the disease and its pathogenesis, epidemiology and interventions,” Gut Microbes 1, no. 4 (2010): 234-42.
7 H. Pituch, “Clostridium difficile is no longer just a nosocomial infection or an infection of adults,” Int J Antimicrob Agents 33 Suppl 1 (2009): S42-5.
8 “Severe Clostridium difficile-Associated Disease in Populations Previously at Low Risk—Four States, 2005,” MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 54, no. 47 (2005): 1201-5.
9 P.K. Kutty et al., “Risk Factors for and Estimated Incidence of Community-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection, North Carolina, USA,” Emerg Infect Dis 16, no. 2 (2010): 197-204.
10 A.N. Ananthakrishnan, “Clostridium difficile infection: epidemiology, risk factors and management,” Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 8, no. 1 (2011): 17-26.
11 T. Pelaez et al., “Reassessment of Clostridium difficile Susceptibility to Metronidazole and Vancomycin,” Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46, no. 6 (2002): 1647-50.
12 A. Dworczynski, B. Sokol, and F. Meisel-Mikolajczyk, “Antibiotic resistance of Clostridium difficile isolates,” Cytobios 65, no. 262-263 (1991): 149-53.
13 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA approves treatment for Clostridium difficile infection,” news release, May 27, 2011, www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm257024.htm.
14 A. Pollack, “F.D.A. Approves Drug to Treat Hospital Scourge,” New York Times, May 27, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/health/28drug.html.
15 R.M. Dallal et al, “Fulminant Clostridium difficile: An Underappreciated and Increasing Cause of Death and Complications,” Ann Surg 235, no. 3 (2002): 363-72.
16 Based on data from, M.P. Heron et al., “Deaths: Final Data for 2006,” National Vital Statistics Reports 57, no. 14 (2009).
In January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law, signaling the first major update to our nation’s food safety oversight framework since the Great Depression. Despite widespread support for the legislation and its implementation, the Obama administration still has not issued all of the proposed rules under FSMA.
More infoThe Pew Charitable Trusts applauds Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for her efforts to strengthen food safety protections under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and provide grant funding to help school cafeterias across the nation upgrade their equipment to serve healthy, appealing meals to millions of school children. Funding for both programs was included in a larger bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
More info"Being a Minnesotan, Jeff Almer searched for a polite term to describe how he feels about a congressional push to roll back the new food safety laws his family fought for when his elderly mother died after eating salmonella-laced peanut butter in late 2008."
More infoThe Pew Charitable Trusts commends Representative Tom Latham (R-IA) for his leadership in securing approximately $27 million for food safety in the House appropriations bill funding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The new money would help the FDA protect millions of Americans from the dangers of foodborne illnesses and strengthen consumer confidence in the food supply.
More infoAs a pediatrician, my No. 1 concern is to keep children safe and healthy. Inside the walls of my office, I can provide services and counseling to help do just that, whether by giving an infant her first childhood vaccine, providing a mental health screening to an adolescent patient or counseling parents about how to keep their homes as safe as possible. Unfortunately, there are some threats to children's health that are beyond my control, including the food they consume.
More infoCopyright(c) 1996-2012 The Pew Charitable Trusts. All Rights Reserved.
[+] Feedback PHG.PRODUCTION.1.20130703.1022 (PEWSUWVMWAPP01)
