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Acquisition of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kaatz, GW; Gitlin, SD; Schaberg, DR; Wilson, KH; Kauffman, CA; Seo, SM; Fekety, R
Published in: Am J Epidemiol
June 1988

An outbreak of antibiotic-associated colitis that occurred on a ward of a Michigan hospital during February-April, 1984, was studied by bacteriophage-bacteriocin typing. Stools from the seven involved patients yielded Clostridium difficile isolates of types B1537 or Cld7;B1537. C. difficile was recovered from 31.4% of environmental cultures obtained on the ward, and the majority of isolates were types B1537 or Cld7;B1537. When the ward was disinfected with unbuffered hypochlorite (500 parts per million (ppm) available chlorine), surface contamination decreased to 21% of initial levels and the outbreak subsequently ended. Phosphate buffered hypochlorite (1,600 ppm available chlorine, pH 7.6) was even more effective; its use resulted in a 98% reduction in surface contamination. These findings suggest that environmental contamination with C. difficile is important in the epidemiology of antibiotic-associated colitis, and that hypochlorite is effective in eliminating C. difficile from the hospital environment.

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Published In

Am J Epidemiol

DOI

ISSN

0002-9262

Publication Date

June 1988

Volume

127

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1289 / 1294

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Middle Aged
  • Michigan
  • Male
  • Hypochlorous Acid
  • Humans
  • Feces
  • Epidemiology
  • Epidemiologic Methods
  • Environmental Microbiology
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous
 

Citation

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Kaatz, G. W., Gitlin, S. D., Schaberg, D. R., Wilson, K. H., Kauffman, C. A., Seo, S. M., & Fekety, R. (1988). Acquisition of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment. Am J Epidemiol, 127(6), 1289–1294. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114921
Kaatz, G. W., S. D. Gitlin, D. R. Schaberg, K. H. Wilson, C. A. Kauffman, S. M. Seo, and R. Fekety. “Acquisition of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment.Am J Epidemiol 127, no. 6 (June 1988): 1289–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114921.
Kaatz GW, Gitlin SD, Schaberg DR, Wilson KH, Kauffman CA, Seo SM, et al. Acquisition of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Jun;127(6):1289–94.
Kaatz, G. W., et al. “Acquisition of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment.Am J Epidemiol, vol. 127, no. 6, June 1988, pp. 1289–94. Pubmed, doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114921.
Kaatz GW, Gitlin SD, Schaberg DR, Wilson KH, Kauffman CA, Seo SM, Fekety R. Acquisition of Clostridium difficile from the hospital environment. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Jun;127(6):1289–1294.
Journal cover image

Published In

Am J Epidemiol

DOI

ISSN

0002-9262

Publication Date

June 1988

Volume

127

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1289 / 1294

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Middle Aged
  • Michigan
  • Male
  • Hypochlorous Acid
  • Humans
  • Feces
  • Epidemiology
  • Epidemiologic Methods
  • Environmental Microbiology
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous