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Choice of antibiotics can cut Clostridium difficile infection rates

Infection Control Monitor, April 6, 2007

A new study reports that reminding physicians which antibiotics to prescribe to patients can cut Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections.

The study published in March in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy shows evidence that cases of C. diff--one of the most common and increasing types of healthcare-associated infections--can be reduced in hospitals if physicians prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics rather than broad-spectrum antibiotics, according to a Journal press release.

Researchers at the Royal Free Hospital in London, which now has the lowest C. diff rates of any teaching hospital in the United Kingdom, found that the use of a pocket-sized laminated card was effective. The card, which tells physicians what antibiotics to prescribe combined with feedback on antibiotics use and infection rates, led to a significant drop in prescription of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and an accompanying fall in infections, according to the news release.

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