Prevalence of Clostridium difficile on a mixed-function ward for the elderly

We studied the prevalence of Clostridium difficile over a period of 2 months on a mixed-function geriatric ward. Seven (14%) of the 49 patients were long-stay but the remainder were in hospital for acute illness or required a short period of active rehabilitation. Although 69 % patients had recently...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of infection Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 287 - 292
Main Authors Corrado, O.J., Mascie-Taylor, B.H., Hall, M.J., Bolton, R.P.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.1990
Elsevier
Subjects
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Clostridium difficile - isolation & purification
Feces - microbiology
Female
General aspects
Humans
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Patients' Rooms - classification
Patients' Rooms - organization & administration
Human
Prevalence
Clostridium difficile
Clostridiales
Epidemiology
Infection
Microbiological investigation
Clostridiaceae
Bacteriosis
Bacteria
Hospital
Elderly
Geriatrics
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Summary:We studied the prevalence of Clostridium difficile over a period of 2 months on a mixed-function geriatric ward. Seven (14%) of the 49 patients were long-stay but the remainder were in hospital for acute illness or required a short period of active rehabilitation. Although 69 % patients had recently received antibiotics, from only two (4%) was C. difficile isolated from their faeces. Our results show that C. difficile is not endemic in patients on all geriatric wards as has been previously suggested.
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ISSN:0163-4453
1532-2742
DOI:10.1016/0163-4453(90)94005-K