Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Sequelae of Asymptomatic Clostridioides difficile Colonization in Children with Cystic Fibrosis

AUTHORS

Reasoner SA , Fazili IF , Bernard R , Parnell JM , Sokolow AG , Thomsen KF , Edwards KM , Brown RF , Nicholson MR , . Journal of cystic fibrosis : official journal of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society. 2022 12 28; ().

PMID: 36585317 [PubMed].

ABSTRACT

Patients with CF (pwCF) have high antibiotic use and an altered intestinal microbiome, known risk factors for infection with Clostridioides difficile. However, in adults with CF, C. difficile infection (CDI) is uncommon and asymptomatic colonization with C. difficile occurs frequently, for reasons that remain unclear. We investigated the rate, risk factors, and sequelae of asymptomatic C. difficile colonization in children with CF (cwCF). We identified that 32% of cwCF were colonized with C. difficile without acute gastrointestinal symptoms. Higher BMI and exposure to specific antibiotic classes (cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and vancomycin) were significantly associated with C. difficile colonization. No children developed symptomatic CDI in 90-days following enrollment.

Tags: alumni publications 2022