Impact and Time Course of Clostridium difficile Colonization in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Abstract

Background: Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, anaerobic spore-forming, toxin-producing bacillus, which is one of the most common causes for health care-associated infections. High colonization rates in clinically asymptomatic neonates and infants have been described, although most studies go back to the early 1980 and 1990s, and were carried out in term and late preterm infants.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to determine both the impact and time course of C. difficile colonization in a cohort of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) in an era of PCR-based technologies for diagnosis.

Methods: Stool samples of VLBWI were analyzed for the presence of C. difficile strains in regular intervals during the hospital stay by PCR ribotyping. Analysis was continued throughout the first 2 years of life.

Results: A 32% C. difficile colonization rate during the first 2 years of life and an in-hospital colonization rate of 8% was found in a cohort of 190 VLBWI. C. difficile colonization occurred mainly in the first 6 months of life, which was similar to term neonates. In-hospital colonization accounted for only a small percentage of cases with no detection of hypervirulent strains. Also, C. difficile colonization was not related to an adverse outcome in this VLBWI cohort. Oral lactoferrin of bovine origin and treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam were negatively correlated with C. difficile colonization in our study.

Conclusions: C. difficile colonization in our cohort of VLBWI was significantly lower than has been described in the literature and was not related to an adverse outcome.

Keywords: Antibiotic therapy; Clostridium difficile; Gut colonization; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Preterm infants.