Burden of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection in patients discharged from Rhode Island hospitals, 2010-2011: application of present on admission indicators

Abstract

Objective: The year 2010 is the first time that the Rhode Island hospital discharge database included present on admission (POA) indicators, which give us the opportunity to distinguish cases of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) from cases of community-onset CDI and to assess the burden of hospital-onset CDI in patients discharged from Rhode Island hospitals during 2010 and 2011.

Design: Observational study.

Patients: Patients 18 years of age or older discharged from one of Rhode Island's 11 acute-care hospitals between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011.

Methods: Using the newly available POA indicators in the Rhode Island 2010 and 2011 hospital discharge database, we identified patients with hospital-onset CDI and without CDI. Adjusting for patient demographic and clinical characteristics using propensity score matching, we measured between-group differences in mortality, length of stay, and cost for patients with hospital-onset CDI and without CDI.

Results: In 2010 and 2011, the 11 acute-care hospitals in Rhode Island had 225,999 discharges. Of 4,531 discharged patients with CDI (2.0% of all discharges), 1,211 (26.7%) had hospital-onset CDI. After adjusting for patient demographic and clinical characteristics, discharged patients with hospital-onset CDI were found to have higher mortality rates, longer lengths of stay, and higher costs than those without CDI.

Conclusions: Our results highlight the burden of hospital-onset CDI in Rhode Island. These findings emphasize the need to track longitudinal trends to tailor and target population-health and quality-improvement initiatives.