How Aggressive Should Clostridium difficile Prevention Strategies Be?

Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, and hospital epidemiologist, Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University, discusses the aggressiveness of infection prevention strategies to stop Clostridium difficile outbreaks.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“I think the aggressiveness of a [Clostridium] difficile strategy should really reflect the degree at which C. difficile is a problem in a healthcare system. There is a range of strategies that could be done.

Certainly, for an institution that has a high level or high rate of C. difficile infection, some authorities, some infection preventionists, want to be more aggressive, not only with isolation but also with screening patients on admission to see whether or not they’re colonized with C. difficile, [so as] to isolate them, properly.

That’s not necessarily the standard of care, but [it’s] certainly done by some institutions.”