Clostridium difficile-related death rates in Texas 1999-2005.
OBJECTIVE
Increased incidence of Clostridium difficile infection and deaths from US hospitals has occurred from 1996 to 2005.


METHODS
We examined C. difficile-related mortality rates in Texas and compared results with national trends.


RESULTS
In Texas, there were 1004C. difficile-related deaths from 1999 to 2005 (586 (58%) attributed as the underlying cause and 418 (42%) attributed as a contributing cause). In 1999, 50 deaths were attributed as the underlying or contributing cause (0.2 per 100,000 population) versus 274 deaths in 2005 (1.2 per 100,000 population); corresponding to a 6-fold increase. There were approximately 4.5 times more hospital in-patient C. difficile-related deaths in 2005 (0.94 per 100,000) versus 1999 (0.21 per 100,000), and approximately 7 times more deaths in nursing homes in 2005 (0.14 per 100,000) than in 1999 (0.02 per 100,000).


CONCLUSIONS
C. difficile has become an important public health concern with a significant mortality burden on the Texas population.
Salazar
Miguel
M
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, TX, USA.
Baskin
Lyudmila
L
Garey
Kevin W
KW
DuPont
Herbert L
HL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003710:Demography; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult