However, to date there is not a well-validated, widely-accepted, and effective severity index using parameters available at the time of diagnosis that can predict a patient’s most likely outcome. Treatment for CDI is usually guided by the severity of illness. 6 CDI also leads to substantial morbidity in a population of patients with CDI 1–2% of patients will undergo total abdominal colectomy with end ileostomy and stapled rectal stump. 2 It results in considerable mortality with an estimated mortality rate of 8–31% 3 – 5 – accounting for approximately 20,500 deaths in 2017 alone. Together, this review explores the various venues of CDI research and highlights the importance of integrating microbial, host, and clinical data to help clinicians make optimal treatment decisions based on accurate prediction of disease progression.ĭefining severe Clostridioides difficile infectionĬlostridioides difficile infection (CDI previously Clostridium difficile) is the most common healthcare associated infection the most common cause of hospital associated diarrhea 1 and has been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat. Finally, we present our perspectives on two specific treatments pertinent to patient outcomes: metronidazole administration and surgery. Next, we highlight clinical factors including renal dysfunction, aging, blood biomarkers, level of care, and chronic illnesses that can affect severe CDI diagnosis and outcome. Furthermore, we identify associations between host immune factors and CDI outcomes in both animal models and human studies. difficile genetics and virulence factors in the molecular epidemiology of CDI, and the utility of early biomarkers in predicting the clinical trajectory of patients at risk of developing severe CDI. In this narrative review, we discuss the implications of C. difficile microbial factors, host immunologic signatures, and clinical features that are associated with adverse outcomes of severe CDI. It is therefore imperative to better characterize the intricate interplay between C. In the United States, Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of healthcare-associated infection, affecting nearly half a million people and resulting in more than 20,000 in-hospital deaths every year.

Scorpid by Adam Ressler