title: Hospitalizations and deaths associated with Clostridium difficile infection, Finland, 1996-2004.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. outi.lyytikainen@thl.fi
authors.forename: Outi
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lyytikäinen
authors.forename: Heli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Turunen
authors.forename: Reijo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sund
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasinperä
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Könönen
authors.forename: Petri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruutu
authors.forename: Ilmo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Keskimäki
mesh_terms: 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