Clostridium Difficile Toxin Infection among the Patients Admitted to Valiasr Hospital of Arak, Iran, from 2013 to 2014

Diarrhea is one of the most common complications of antibiotic usage. And clostridium difficile is the most common cause of Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea (AAD). This study was aimed to investigate the infection with Clostridium Difficile Toxin (CDT) and Clostridium Difficile-Associated Diarrhea (CDAD) among hospitalized patients. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 195 patients admitted to different wards of Valiasr Hospital in Arak, Iran in the summer of 2013, by simple random sampling and considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographic and clinical information of the patients was recorded using questionnaires. Among 195 patients, the prevalence positive toxin and CDAD were calculated as 14.4% and 4.1%, respectively. Incidence of CDAD had a significant relationship with antibiotic consumption history (p<0.05). Though the prevalence of positive toxin cases was more in female patients (p=0.001) and having significant relationship with diarrhea (p=0.036), no other significant relationship was found between the age, the type of hospital wards, the reason for hospitalization and antibiotic use with the results of CDT test. The CDT infection and CDAD were highly frequent in the hospital under our study. Therefore, it is suggested to implement care programs to decrease prevalence of the toxin of this organism in the patients admitted to hospitals and the related CDAD.