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Clinical Practice Guidelines forClostridium difficile Infection in Adults: 2010 Update by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2015

Stuart H. Cohen
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious and Immunologic Diseases, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California
Dale N. Gerding
Affiliation:
Research Service, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois
Stuart Johnson
Affiliation:
Research Service, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois
Ciaran P. Kelly
Affiliation:
Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Vivian G. Loo
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
L. Clifford McDonald
Affiliation:
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Jacques Pepin
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Mark H. Wilcox
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Trust and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

Abstract

Since publication of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America position paper onClostridium difficile infection in 1995, significant changes have occurred in the epidemiology and treatment of this infection.C. difficile remains the most important cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea and is increasingly important as a community pathogen. A more virulent strain ofC. difficile has been identified and has been responsible for more-severe cases of disease worldwide. Data reporting the decreased effectiveness of metronidazole in the treatment of severe disease have been published. Despite the increasing quantity of data available, areas of controversy still exist. This guideline updates recommendations regarding epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and infection control and environmental management.

Information

Type
SHEA-IDSA Guideline
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2010 

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