The number of hospital stays involving
C. difficile infections has leveled off after more than tripling since 1993. That's according to newly released data from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
In 2008, there were approximately 349,000 hospital stays with
C. difficile, up from 86,000 in 2003,
AHRQ said in a news release. But that upward trend showed signs of slowing in 2009, when stays involving the infection dipped 3% to 337,000.
C. difficile, most common among elderly patients, can cause a number of costly and dangerous complications, including colitis, AHRQ said. It is also associated with longer lengths of stay and increased mortality. “More than 9% of hospital stays with
C. difficile ended in death, compared with less than 2% for all other hospital stays,” according to the release.
More than two thirds of hospital stays involving
C. difficile are covered by Medicare, the
agency said in the report (PDF).
