The following is a summary of “Risk factors for clostridium difficile infection in general surgery patients,” published in the JANUARY 2023 issue of Surgery by Hess, et al.
A prominent cause of death is Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI). Among the general surgery patients, researchers, for a study, sought to find predictors of CDI.
Data on demographics, interventions, and outcomes were abstracted to identify patients who underwent general surgery procedures in the 2019 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. By using univariate analysis, patients with and without CDI were compared. Multivariable logistic regression (MLR) was used to find independent predictors of CDI.
About 1,840 of the 436,831 surgical patients had a CDI diagnosis (0.4%). Patients with CDI are more likely to die (2.1% vs. 0.76%, P< 0.0001), remain longer (7 days vs. 1 day, P< 0.0001), and have a lower likelihood of having a laparoscopic operation (29.9% vs. 37.5%, P< 0.0001). As independent predictors of CDI, MLR identified advanced age, urgent surgery, lengthened recovery time, surgical site infection, deep organ space infection, steroid use, metastatic disease, smoking, and lower body mass index (BMI).
After general anesthesia, CDI was uncommon. However, with CDI came infections, delays in operations, and emergency procedures.
Reference; americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(22)00579-7/fulltext
