Volume 19, Number 11—November 2013
CME ACTIVITY - Research
Possible Association between Obesity and Clostridium difficile Infection
Jason Leung, Bob Burke, Dale Ford, Gail Garvin, Cathy Korn, Carol Sulis, and Nahid Bhadelia
Table 1
Patient characteristics associated with cases of community onset, community-onset health care–associated, and health care onset cases of Clostridium difficile infections
| Characteristic | Community onset n = 59 | Community-onset health care–associated n = 32 | Health care onset n = 41 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic traits | ||||
| Mean age [range] | 57.8 [22–96] | 63.7 [23–95] | 61.6 [21–96] | 0.31* |
| Male sex, no. (%) | 27 (46) | 10 (31) | 23 (56) | 0.106 |
| Medication use, no. (%) | ||||
| Prior antibiotic use | 31 (52.5) | 11 (34.4) | 33 (80) | <0.001 |
| Antiulcer medication | 24 (41) | 18 (56) | 19 (46) | 0.363 |
| Physical status/illness, no. (%) | ||||
| Obese (body mass index>30) | 20 (34) | 4 (13) | 13 (32) | 0.078 |
| Immunocompromised† | 14 (24) | 11 (34) | 11 (27) | 0.551 |
| Diabetes | 14 (24) | 9 (28) | 7 (17) | 0.519 |
| Irritable bowel disease | 10 (17) | 1 (3) | 1 (2) | 0.018 |
| Required inpatient admission, no. (%) | 41 (69) | 29 (91) | 39 (95) | 0.002 |
| Average days stayed | 7.7 | 8.2 | 18.6 | <0.001 |
| Required intensive care unit stay | 11 (27) | 8 (28) | 24 (61) | 0.002 |
*P value for 1-way analysis of variance.
†Immunocomprised group included all malignancies, innate and acquired immune conditions such as HIV/AIDS, and congenital immune defects. This group excluded comorbidities listed separately.
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