Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T04:21:54.200Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Estimating the Attributable Disease Burden and Effects of Interhospital Patient Sharing on Clostridium difficile Infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2019

Daniel K. Sewell*
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Jacob E. Simmering
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Samuel Justice
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Sriram V. Pemmaraju
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Alberto M. Segre
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Philip M. Polgreen
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowafor the CDC MInD-Healthcare Program
*
Author for correspondence: Daniel K. Sewell, Email: daniel-sewell@uiowa.edu

Abstract

Objective:

To estimate the burden of Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) due to interfacility patient sharing at regional and hospital levels.

Design:

Retrospective observational study.

Methods:

We used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project California State Inpatient Database (2005–2011) to identify 26,878,498 admissions and 532,925 patient transfers. We constructed a weighted, directed network among the hospitals by defining an edge between 2 hospitals to be the monthly average number of patients discharged from one hospital and admitted to another on the same day. We then used a network autocorrelation model to study the effect of the patient sharing network on the monthly average number of CDI cases per hospital, and we estimated the proportion of CDI cases attributable to the network.

Results:

We found that 13% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.6%–18%) of CDI cases were due to diffusion through the patient-sharing network. The network autocorrelation parameter was estimated at 5.0 (95% CI, 3.0–6.9). An increase in the number of patients transferred into and/or an increased CDI rate at the hospitals from which those patients originated led to an increase in the number of CDIs in the receiving hospital.

Conclusions:

A minority but substantial burden of CDI infections are attributable to hospital transfers. A hospital’s infection control may thus be nontrivially influenced by its neighboring hospitals. This work adds to the growing body of evidence that intervention strategies designed to minimize HAIs should be done at the regional rather than local level.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© 2019 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

PREVIOUS PRESENTATION: This work was presented in part at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases on August 27, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia.

References

Magill, SS, Edwards, JR, Bamberg, W, et al. Multistate point-prevalence survey of health care-associated infections. N Engl J Med 2014;370:1198–208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, CT, Safdar, N. Current trends in the epidemiology and outcomes of Clostridium difficile infection. Clin Infect Dis 2015;60 Suppl 2:S66S71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, LC, Lessa, F, Sievert, D, et al. Vital signs: preventing Clostridium difficile infections. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2012;61:157162.Google Scholar
Kwon, JH, Olsen, MA, Dubberke, ER. The morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with Clostridium difficile infection. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2015;29:123134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Redelings, MD, Sorvillo, F, Mascola, L. Increase in Clostridium difficile-related mortality rates, United States, 1999–2004. Emerg Infect Dis 2007;13:14171419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Kleef, E, Green, N, Goldenberg, SD, et al. Excess length of stay and mortality due to Clostridium difficile infection: a multi-state modelling approach. J Hosp Infect 2014;88:213217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tabak, YP, Zilberberg, MD, Johannes, RS, Sun, X, McDonald, LC. Attributable burden of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection: a propensity score matching study. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2013;34:588596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kyne, L, Hamel, MB, Polavaram, R, Kelly, CP. Health care costs and mortality associated with nosocomial diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile . Clin Infect Dis 2002;34:346353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Song, X, Bartlett, JG, Speck, K, Naegeli, A, Carroll, K, Perl, TM. Rising economic impact of clostridium difficile-associated disease in adult hospitalized patient population. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:823828.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimlichman, E, Henderson, D, Tamir, O, et al. Health care-associated infections: a meta-analysis of costs and financial impact on the US health care system. JAMA Intern Med 2013;173:20392046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevens, V, Dumyati, G, Fine, LS, Fisher, SG, van Wijngaarden, E. Cumulative antibiotic exposures over time and the risk of Clostridium difficile infection. Clin Infect Dis 2011;53:4248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, C, Stevenson, M, Riley, TV. Antibiotics and hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea: a systematic review. J Antimicrob Chemother 2003;51:13391350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, KA, Khanafer, N, Daneman, N, Fisman, DN. Meta-analysis of antibiotics and the risk of community-associated Clostridium difficile infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2013;57:23262332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halabi, WJ, Nguyen, VQ, Carmichael, JC, Pigazzi, A, Stamos, MJ, Mills, S. Clostridium difficile colitis in the United States: a decade of trends, outcomes, risk factors for colectomy, and mortality after colectomy. J Am Coll Surg 2013;217:802812.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, LC, Owings, M, Jernigan, DB. Clostridium difficile infection in patients discharged from US short-stay hospitals, 1996–2003. Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12:409415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pepin, J, Valiquette, L, Cossette, B. Mortality attributable to nosocomial Clostridium difficile-associated disease during an epidemic caused by a hypervirulent strain in Quebec. CMAJ 2005;173:10371042.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, RR, Beere, D, Wilcock, GK, Brown, EM. Clostridium difficile in acute and long-stay elderly patients. Age Ageing 1988;17:333336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loo, VG, Bourgault, AM, Poirier, L, et al. Host and pathogen factors for Clostridium difficile infection and colonization. N Engl J Med 2011;365(18):16931703.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palmore, TN, Sohn, S, Malak, SF, Eagan, J, Sepkowitz, KA. Risk factors for acquisition of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea among outpatients at a cancer hospital. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2005;26:680684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, VW, Khader, K, Nelson, RE, et al. Excess length of stay attributable to Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the acute care setting: a multistate model. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;36:10241030.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aseeri, M, Chroeder, T, Kramer, J, Zackula, R. Gastric acid suppression by proton pump inhibitors as a risk factor for Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in hospitalized patients. Am J Gastroenterol 2008;103:23082313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howell, MD, Novack, V, Grgurich, P, et al. Iatrogenic gastric acid suppression and the risk of nosocomial Clostridium difficile infection. Arch Intern Med 2010;170:784790.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dial, S, Alrasadi, K, Manoukian, C, Huang, A, Menzies, D. Risk of Clostridium difficile diarrhea among hospital inpatients prescribed proton pump inhibitors: cohort and case-control studies. CMAJ 2004;171:3338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dubberke, ER, Reske, KA, Olsen, MA, et al. Evaluation of Clostridium difficile-associated disease pressure as a risk factor for C. difficile-associated disease. Arch Intern Med 2007;167:10921097.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weber, DJ, Anderson, D, Rutala, WA. The role of the surface environment in healthcare-associated infections. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2013;26: 338344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaughnessy, MK, Micielli, RL, DePestel, DD, et al. Evaluation of hospital room assignment and acquisition of Clostridium difficile infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2011;32:201206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, AC, Polgreen, LA, Cavanaugh, JE, Polgreen, PM. Hospital Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) incidence as a risk factor for hospital-associated CDI. Am J Infect Control 2016;44:825829.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, KH, Fekety, R, Batts, DH, et al. Isolation of Clostridium difficile from the environment and contacts of patients with antibiotic-associated colitis. J Infect Dis 1981;143:4250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, K, Valenta, K, Fisman, D, Simor, A, Daneman, N. Hospital ward antibiotic prescribing and the risks of Clostridium difficile infection. JAMA Intern Med 2015;175:626633.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simmering, JE, Polgreen, LA, Campbell, DR, Cavanaugh, JE, Polgreen, PM. Hospital transfer network structure as a risk factor for Clostridium difficile infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;36:10311037.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donker, T, Wallinga, J, Slack, R, Grundmann, H. Hospital networks and the dispersal of hospital-acquired pathogens by patient transfer. PLoS One 2012;7(4):e35002.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, BY, Bartsch, SM, Wong, KF, et al. The importance of nursing homes in the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among hospitals. Med Care 2013;51:205215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, JR, Carriker, CM, Pien, BC, et al. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak in an intensive care nursery: potential for interinstitutional spread. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2007;26:678683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobson, RP, MacKenzie, FM, Gould, IM. An outbreak of multiply-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in the Grampian region of Scotland. J Hosp Infect 1996;33:249262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prabaker, K, Lin, MY, McNally, M, et al. Transfer from high-acuity long-term care facilities is associated with carriage of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae: a multihospital study. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33:11931199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snitkin, ES, Won, S, Pirani, A, et al. Integrated genomic and interfacility patient-transfer data reveal the transmission pathways of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in a regional outbreak. Sci Transl Med 2017;9(417): pii: eaan0093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ray, MJ, Lin, MY, Tang, AS, et al. Regional spread of an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae through an Ego network of healthcare facilities. Clin Infect Dis 2018;67:407410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slayton, RB, Toth, D, Lee, BY, et al. Vital signs: estimated effects of a coordinated approach for action to reduce antibiotic-resistant infections in health care facilities—United States. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2015; 64:826831.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zilberberg, MD, Nathanson, BH, Marcella, S, Hawkshead, JJ III, Shorr, AF. Hospital readmission with Clostridium difficile infection as a secondary diagnosis is associated with worsened outcomes and greater revenue loss relative to principal diagnosis: a retrospective cohort study. Medicine 2018;97:e12212e12212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dubberke, ER, Reske, KA, McDonald, LC, Fraser, VJ. ICD-9 codes and surveillance for Clostridium difficile-associated disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12:15761579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doreian, P, Tueter, K, Wang, C-H. Network autocorrelation models: some Monte Carlo results. Sociologica Method Res 1984;13:155200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerding, DN, Meyer, T, Lee, C, et al. Administration of spores of nontoxigenic Clostridium difficile strain M3 for prevention of recurrent C. difficile infection: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2015;313: 17191727.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhou, YP, Wilder-Smith, A, Hsu, LY. The role of international travel in the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . J Travel Med 2014;21:272281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nakata, Y, Rost, G. Global analysis for spread of infectious diseases via transportation networks. J Math Biol 2015;70:1411–1156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtis, DE, Hlady, CS, Kanade, G, et al. Healthcare worker contact networks and the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. PLoS One 2013;8(12):e79906.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hornbeck, T, Naylor, D, Segre, AM, Thomas, G, Herman, T, Polgreen, PM. Using sensor networks to study the effect of peripatetic healthcare workers on the spread of hospital-associated infections. J Infect Dis 2012;206: 15491557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fries, J, Segre, AM, Thomas, G, Herman, T, Ellingson, K, Polgreen, PM. Monitoring hand hygiene via human observers: how should we be sampling? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33:689695.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Polgreen, PM, Tassier, TL, Pemmaraju, SV, Segre, AM. Prioritizing healthcare worker vaccinations on the basis of social network analysis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2010;31:893900.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuntz, JL, Polgreen, PM. The importance of considering different healthcare settings when estimating the burden of Clostridium difficile . Clin Infect Dis 2015;60:831836.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: PDF

Sewell et al. supplementary material

Sewell et al. supplementary material 1

Download Sewell et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 223.6 KB