Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a major health problem that has been on the rise for the last couple of decades. It has significant mortality and morbidity in hospitalized patients. We looked at the outcomes of CDI in patients with liver cirrhosis compared to those without liver cirrhosis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study from a large inpatient database. The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was queried for CDI admissions between January 2012 and September 2015. Patients admitted with CDI were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. The outcomes included overall mortality, length of hospitalization, and healthcare expenditure related to hospitalization. RESULTS: Out of all patients, 53,765 (3.97%) had concurrent CDI and liver cirrhosis. Diabetes mellitus, alcohol abuse, and acquired immunodeficiency were observed more in patients with liver cirrhosis. Overall mortality (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.53 - 1.77, P < 0.001), cost of hospitalization and length of hospital stay (11.0 vs. 10.4 days, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CDI and liver cirrhosis have significantly higher mortality, prolonged hospitalization and healthcare expenditure. Further studies are recommended to look at reversible risk factors for CDI in patients with liver cirrhosis to guide quality measures that would ultimately improve outcomes.