Hospitalizations and deaths associated with Clostridium difficile infection, Finland, 1996-2004.
To determine whether the rate of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) and CDAD-related deaths were increasing in Finland, we analyzed registry data from 1996 through 2004. We determined the number of hospital discharges that had a diagnosis code specific for CDAD from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision: "enterocolitis due to Clostridium difficile" (A04.7) and "pseudomembranous enterocolitis associated with antimicrobial therapy" (K52.8), listed as any diagnosis in the National Hospital Discharge Registry. CDAD-related deaths were identified from death certificates. Those discharged with a CDAD diagnosis doubled from 810 (16/100,000 population) in 1996 to 1,787 (34/100,000) in 2004. The increase was most prominent for patients 7gt;64 years of age but concerned only those discharged with diagnosis code A04.7. The number of those discharged with diagnosis code K52.8 remained stable. The age-standardized mortality rate associated with CDAD increased from 9/million in 1998 to 17/million in 2004; the increase was limited to persons 7gt;64 years of age.
Lyytikäinen
Outi
O
National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. outi.lyytikainen@thl.fi
Turunen
Heli
H
Sund
Reijo
R
Rasinperä
Marja
M
Könönen
Eija
E
Ruutu
Petri
P
Keskimäki
Ilmo
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003644:Death Certificates; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D055815:Young Adult