Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38539166›Full record

Observational studyBMC infectious diseases2024

Epidemiological and clinical burden of Clostridioides difficile infections and recurrences between 2015 - 2019: the RECUR Germany study.

Aurore Tricotel, Ana Antunes, Adrian Wilk, Silvia Dombrowski, Hanna Rinta-Kokko, Fredrik L Andersson, Subrata Ghosh

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC infectious diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Metabolic Syndrome Is Associated With Increased Risk ofOpen forum infectious diseases · 2026
    Article
  3. Observational
  4. Global, regional, and national burden of Clostridioides difficile infection (1990-2021) with projections to 2051: A multimodal analysis integrating machine learning (SHAP-XGBoost) and GBD 2021 data.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026
    Article
  5. Treating Initial and RecurrentMicroorganisms · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Microorganisms · 2024
    Article
  13. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Aurore TricotelIQVIA, Real World Solutions, Paris, France. aurore.tricotel@iqvia.com.
Ana AntunesIQVIA, Global Database Studies, Real World Solutions, Lisbon, Portugal.
Adrian WilkTeam Gesundheit, Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsmanagement mbH, Essen, Germany.
Silvia DombrowskiIQVIA, Real World Solutions, Frankfurt, Germany.
Hanna Rinta-KokkoIQVIA, Global Database Studies, Real World Solutions, Espoo, Finland.
Fredrik L AnderssonFerring Pharmaceuticals, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Subrata GhoshCollege of Medicine and Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis real-world study assessed the epidemiology and clinical complications of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) and recurrences (rCDIs) in hospital and community settings in Germany from 2015 - 2019.

methodsAn observational retrospective cohort study was conducted among adult patients diagnosed with CDI in hospital and community settings using statutory health insurance claims data from the BKK database. A cross-sectional approach was used to estimate the annual incidence rate of CDI and rCDI episodes per 100,000 insurants. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics were described at the time of first CDI episode. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the time to rCDIs and time to complications (colonic perforation, colectomy, loop ileostomy, toxic megacolon, ulcerative colitis, peritonitis, and sepsis). A Cox model was used to assess the risk of developing complications, with the number of rCDIs as a time-dependent covariate.

resultsA total of 15,402 CDI episodes were recorded among 11,884 patients. The overall incidence of CDI episodes declined by 38% from 2015 to 2019. Most patients (77%) were aged ≥ 65 years. Around 19% of CDI patients experienced at least one rCDI. The median time between index CDI episode to a rCDI was 20 days. The most frequent complication within 12-months of follow-up after the index CDI episode was sepsis (7.57%), followed by colectomy (3.20%). The rate of complications increased with the number of rCDIs. The risk of any complication increased by 31% with each subsequent rCDI (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.31, 95% confidence interval: 1.17;1.46).

conclusionsCDI remains a public health concern in Germany despite a decline in the incidence over recent years. A substantial proportion of CDI patients experience rCDIs, which increase the risk of severe clinical complications. The results highlight an increasing need of improved therapeutic management of CDI, particularly efforts to prevent rCDI.

Indexed as

Clostridioides difficileClostridium InfectionsSepsisAdultAnti-Bacterial AgentsHumansRecurrenceRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsAnti-Bacterial AgentsClinicalClostridioides difficile infectionEpidemiologicalGermanyReal-world studyRecurrent Clostridioides difficile infection

Identifiers

PMID38539166
PMCPMC10976771

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.