Journal
Clinical Characteristics Of Relaspes And Reinfections In <em>Clostridium Difficile</em> Infection
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common healthcare–associated infection with a recurrence rate of up to 36% among initially treated patients [1]. Age over 65 years, severe underlying disease, use of antibiotics for non–CDI infections or proton pump inhibitor and prior hospital exposure are some of recognized risk factors for recurrence. In addition, infection with the BI/NAP1/027 strain has been associated with risk of relapse [2, 3] Recurrence of CDI can be caused by the original infecting strains (relapse) or by another strains (reinfection). When molecular typing methods were first employed to identify strains, 50–90% of recurrences were confirmed as relapse [1, 2, 4].