Postoperative Clostridium difficile infection has a differential procedure-specific association with surgical outcomes in contemporary United States practice

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made the prevention of in-hospital Clostridium difficile infection a priority. However, whether there is a differential impact of Clostridium difficile on surgical patients remains undefined. Therefore, we quantified the procedure-specific associ-ation between postoperative Clostridium difficile and surgical outcomes to define opportunities for tar-geted quality improvement.Methods: We studied patients undergoing major cardiac, vascular, general, or oncologic procedures using the Vizient database from 2015 to 2019. Our primary exposure was postoperative Clostridium difficile infection. Our primary outcomes were postoperative length of stay, hospitalization cost, readmission, and in-hospital mortality. We used linear and logistic regression for risk adjustment.Results: The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection was 1.6% (n 1/4 6,506/397,750). Patients with Clostridium difficile were older, more comorbid, and more frequently underwent urgent surgery. The median postoperative length of stay was 7 days (interquartile range: 5-11 days), and it was 66% longer among those with Clostridium difficile (P < .001). Similarly, the median hospitalization cost was $31,000 (interquartile range: $20,000-$49,00 0), and it was 51% greater among patients with Clostridium difficile (P < .001). Postoperative Clostridium difficile was associated with more readmissions after coronary artery bypass grafting, small bowel resection, colectomy, gastrectomy, pancreatectomy, and infrainguinal bypass (adjusted odds ratio range: 1.4-1.7), but not after open aneurysm repair, suprainguinal bypass, or esophagectomy. Clostridium difficile was associated with increased mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting, small bowel resection, colectomy, and infrainguinal bypass (adjusted odds ratio range: 1.3-2.7), but not after open aneurysm repair, suprainguinal bypass, esophagectomy, gastrectomy, or pancreatectomy. Conclusion: Postoperative Clostridium difficile infection was differentially associated with increased length of stay, cost, readmissions, and mortality across specific procedures. This was most apparent after infrainguinal bypass, small bowel resection, colectomy, and coronary artery bypass grafting. Accordingly, a targeted Clostridium difficile reduction effort for these procedures may offer a more effective approach toward reducing infection rates.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study found a significant association between postoperative Clostridium difficile infection and surgical outcomes, with certain procedure types being more affected. Therefore, targeted quality improvement efforts are needed to reduce infection rates.