On this page: Background | Educational Resources | Setting-Specific Resources | Patient Resources | Data & Reporting
Background
Clostridioides difficile (“C. difficile” or “C. diff”) is a type of bacteria (germ) that causes diarrhea. It is possible to carry C. diff bacteria in your body but not show any symptoms; this is called colonization. After treatment, repeat testing is not recommended if symptoms have resolved. This is because many people still have the bacteria. Those at the highest risk for C. diff infection are older adults on antibiotics for a long time. People with gastrointestinal conditions or prior surgery are at risk. The same is true for those with weakened immune systems or other chronic health conditions. Frequent hospitalization also raises the risk for C. diff infection.
Infection prevention is an important strategy to stop the transmission of C. difficile. This involves using antibiotics appropriately, implementing Contact Precautions, practicing good hand hygiene, and focusing on environmental cleaning and disinfection.
Educational Resources
- Antimicrobial Stewardship
- C. diff – fact sheet with prevention strategies (VDH and VHI)
- Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization
- Hand Hygiene
- Infection Control Precautions
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Personal Protective Equipment
VDH Infection Prevention and Control Assessments: The HAI/AR team is available to conduct a no-cost, non-regulatory, onsite visit to help a facility identify its infection prevention strengths and areas of opportunity.
- C. diff Fact Sheet for Healthcare Professionals
- C. diff Healthcare Resources (fact sheets, guidelines, assessments)
- Clinical Guidance for C. diff Prevention in Acute Care Facilities
Guidelines
- Disinfection and Sterilization Guidelines
- Environmental Infection Control Guidelines
- Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings
- Isolation Precautions Guideline
- STRIVE Infection Control Training: C. difficile Infection
- Targeted Assessment for Prevention (TAP) Strategy Toolkit
- Project Firstline - CDC’s Project Firstline provides innovative and accessible infection control education for all frontline healthcare workers.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Environmental Protection Agency
Health Quality Innovation Network
- HQIN Resources – filter search to find resources on C. diff Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
- SHEA/IDSA Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Clostridioides difficileInfections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2022 Update
- 2021 Focused Update Guidelines on Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Adults
Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group
- Virginia Infection Prevention & Control Training Alliance (VIPTA) – search the education and training resource library for resources related to C. diff
Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center
- Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center (VIPTC) – courses and trainings related to infection prevention and control.
- Chain of Transmission with C. difficile (video)
Setting-Specific Resources
Clostridioides difficile resources specific to hospital settings:
- Clinical Guidance for C. diff Prevention in Acute Care Facilities (CDC)
- Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs (CDC)
- Duration of Contact Precautions for Acute Care Settings (SHEA)
- Strategies to Prevent C. difficile Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2022 Update (SHEA/IDSA/APIC)
View Hospitals homepage
Clostridioides difficile resources specific to long-term care settings:
Patient Resources
- C. diff website (CDC)
- C. diff Educational Resources (CDC)
- Tips for Being a Safe Patient (CDC)
- C. diff Fact Sheet (VDH)
- C. diff Prevention – fact sheet with prevention strategies (VDH and VHI)
Data & Reporting
- CMS Care Compare – a searchable database of Medicare-certified facilities including hospitals and long-term acute care hospitals. Allows users to compare facilities on a variety of quality measures including C. difficile infections and other facility characteristics.
- C. diff is a major threat. According to CDC’s 2019 Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report, in 2017, there were an estimated 223,900 cases in hospitalized patients and 12,800 deaths in the United States.
National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
- Resources related to reporting C. diff laboratory-identified events to NHSN are available on the CDC website, including protocols, data collection forms, and analysis resources.
- Acute care hospital and long-term acute care hospital C. diff data can be accessed on the VDH HAI/AR Program Data website.
Virginia Communicable Disease & Outbreak Reporting Requirements
State regulatory code aligns Virginia’s healthcare-associated infection reporting requirements with those required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term acute care hospitals report C. difficile laboratory-identified events to VDH via CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
Per the Regulations for Disease Reporting and Control, the following is reportable:
- By facilities or programs licensed or operated by any agency of the Commonwealth, schools, child-care centers, and summer camps: Any suspected or confirmed outbreak
- Suspected Outbreak Reporting Portal
For more information: Disease Reporting and Control Regulations page.