Study: C. diff infection rate levels off

A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that the rate of C. difficile infections in hospitalized patients nearly doubled from 2001 to 2010. But improved infection control and antibiotic stewardship programs may have led to a leveling off in recent years; the C. diff rate peaked in 2008 and declined slightly through 2010.

The researchers relied on ICD-9-CM coding to identify C. diff and other diagnoses, which they said made it difficult to confirm the diagnosis using laboratory methods, identify the causative strain of C. diff, or determine the presence of the infection on admission.

Read the study here.