The Efficacy of Bezlotoxumab in the Prevention of Recurrent Clostridium difficile: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common nosocomial infection in hospitals. Despite the fact that CDI has treatment options, recurrence is common after the treatment, recurrence will occur in approximately 20%-35% of people initially affected, with 40%-60% of these having a second recurrence. Patients are more likely to have several recurrences after the second, which can lead to antibiotic overuse, and as a result, CDI-related health care expenses, hospitalizations, and mortality are on the rise. The first treatment to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the prevention of C. difficile recurrence is bezlotoxumab, a novel human monoclonal antibody against C. difficile toxin B. In the present systematic review, we assessed various studies from PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Google Scholar, and Science direct that evaluated the efficacy of bezlotoxumab in the prevention of recurrent C. difficile (rCDI), and we also briefly discussed the pathophysiology of C. difficile and the risk factors for recurrence of C. difficile. The major MODIFY trial has proven the efficacy, pooled analysis of MODIFY 1 AND 2 trials demonstrated the following results as compared to placebo (bezlotoxumab: 129/781 [16.5] placebo:206/773 [26.6] -10.0% [95% CI -14.0 to -6.0], p<0.0001) with number needed to treat (NNT) of 10. All other observational studies also showed a positive response with bezlotoxumab in the prevention of C. difficile. In conclusion, bezlotoxumab is a great option adjunctive with standard of care CDI antibiotics for the prevention of rCDI in high-risk adults.

Keywords: bezlotoxumab; clostridium difficile; clostridium difficile infection; monoclonal antibody; recurrent clostridium difficile infection.

Figure 1. A flow diagram of the study selection

PMC - PubMed Central