Treating Clostridium difficile infection in patients presenting with hematological malignancies: Are current guidelines applicable?

Effective treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection improves survival and affects graft-versus-host disease: a multicenter study by the Polish Adult Leukemia Group

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). The impact of CDI and its treatment on allo-HCT outcomes and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), including gastrointestinal GVHD (GI-GVHD) is not well established. This multicenter study assessed real-life data on the first-line treatment of CDI and its impact on allo-HCT outcomes. Retrospective and prospective data of patients with CDI after allo-HCT were assessed. We noted statistically significant increase in the incidence of acute GVHD and acute GI-GVHD after CDI (P = 0.005 and P = 0.016, respectively). The first-line treatment for CDI included metronidazole in 34 patients, vancomycin in 64, and combination therapy in 10. Treatment failure was more common with metronidazole than vancomycin (38.2% vs. 6.2%; P < 0.001). The need to administer second-line treatment was associated with the occurrence or exacerbation of GVHD (P < 0.05) and GI-GVHD (P < 0.001) and reduced overall survival (P < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, the risk of death was associated with acute GVHD presence before CDI (hazard ratio [HR], 3.19; P = 0.009) and the need to switch to second-line treatment (HR, 4.83; P < 0.001). The efficacy of the initial CDI treatment affects survival and occurrence of immune-mediated GI-GVHD after allo-HCT. Therefore, agents with higher efficacy than metronidazole (vancomycin or fidaxomicin) should be administered as the first-line treatment.

Diagnostic and therapy of severe Clostridioides difficile infections in the ICU

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of the review is to provide all the recent data focusing on the diagnostic and treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection in patients admitted in the ICU.

RECENT FINDINGS

In the ICU, diagnosis remains complicated with a large number of alternative diagnosis. The treatment classically relies on vancomycin but fidaxomicin and fecal microbiota transplantation are now potential solutions in selected indications.

SUMMARY

Data on ICU-related CDI remain limited and conflicting. To date, there is no unique and simple way to obtain a diagnosis for CDI, the combination of clinical signs and a two-step testing algorithm remains the recommended gold-standard. Two molecules can be proposed for first line treatment: vancomycin and fidaxomicin. Although metronidazole may still be discussed as a treatment option for mild CDI in low-risk patients, its use for ICU-patients does not seem reasonable. Several reports suggest that fecal microbiota transplantation could be discussed, as it is well tolerated and associated with a high rate of clinical cure. CDI is a dynamic and active area of research with new diagnostic techniques, molecules, and management concepts likely changing our approach to this old disease in the near future.

A Retrospective Study Analyzing the Appropriateness of Initial Treatment of Clostridium difficile in Patients with Active Malignancy

Background

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of hospital-associated gastrointestinal illness. Previous studies reported that patients with active malignancy are at high risk for CDIs, and yet they are still classified as nonsevere CDI and initially treated with metronidazole. Our aim is to investigate the need for the escalation of antibiotic therapy in patients with CDI and active cancer treated with oral metronidazole versus oral vancomycin.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of adult patients admitted with CDI and any underlying active malignancy at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, from January 2008 to December 2014. Inclusion criteria included age > 18 years old, polymerase chain reaction- (PCR-) proven CDI, and active malignancy.

Results

197 patients were included in the final analysis. 44.8% of the metronidazole group required escalation of therapy compared to 15.2% in the vancomycin group (p value = 0.001). 29.8% of the combination group (metronidazole and vancomycin) underwent deescalation of antibiotics, which was significantly higher compared to 2.2% of patients in the vancomycin group (p value < 0.001).

Discussion

Our results support the initial use of vancomycin or a combination (metronidazole and vancomycin) versus metronidazole in patients with CDI and active malignancy.