Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: The Evolving Risk Landscape.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been recommended in clinical guidelines for the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). However, it is considered investigational by most regulatory agencies. As the adoption of FMT has increased from a small group of CDI experts alone to more widespread use, there has been a corresponding increase in concern regarding potential risk. FMT is largely considered a safe procedure although risks described range from mild gastrointestinal symptoms to serious infection. Currently, there is variability in how "FMT" is characterized specifically regarding testing approach, which, in turn, impacts the risk profile. This has been highlighted by the rare cases of multidrug-resistant organisms, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia and enteropathogenic E. coli, recently reported, where these organisms were not screened. These cases have prompted additional screening mandates from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has maintained its policy of enforcement discretion for the use of FMT for CDI not responding to standard therapy. Here, we examine the evolving risk landscape of FMT.

Healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile infection during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in Romania.

Introduction. Information on healthcare-associated C.difficile infection (HA-CDI) in COVID-19 patients is limited. We aimed to assess the characteristics of HA-CDI acquired during and before the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. We conducted a retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital, in which since March 2020 exclusively COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. We compared HA-CDI adult patients hospitalized in March 2020-February 2021 with those hospitalized during the same period in 2017-2018. Results. We found 51 cases during 2020-2021 (COVID-19 group), incidence 5.6/1000 adult discharge and 99 cases during 2017-2018 (pre-COVID-19 group), incidence 6.1/1000 adult discharge (p=0.6). The patients in COVID-19 group compared to pre-COVID-19 group were older (median age 66 vs 62 years), with similar rate of comorbidities, but with higher rate of cardiovascular diseases (62.7% vs 42.4%) and less immunosuppression (21.6% vs 55.6%), they had a higher proton pump inhibitors use (94.1% vs 32.3%), and a longer hospitalization (median 19 vs 14 days). Eighty-five (85.9%) patients in pre-COVID-19 group versus 44 (86.3%) patients in COVID-19 group received antimicrobial treatment - mainly cephalosporins (34,1%), quinolones (22,3%) and glycopeptides (21,1%) in pre-COVID-19 group and mainly cephalosporins and macrolides (63,6% each) in COVID-19 group. We found four HA-CDI-related deaths in pre-COVID-19 group and none in the COVID-19 group. Conclusions. The HA-CDI incidence in COVID-19 group did not change versus the same period of time during 2017-2018. The antibiotic use was the most important factor associated with HA-CDI. We identified a high use of broad-spectrum antibiotics despite the lack of empirical antimicrobial recommendations in COVID-19.

Did Clostridioides difficile testing and infection rates change during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Testing for and incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) was examined at a single center before and during the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Incidence of CDI remained stable but testing statistically significantly decreased during the first surge despite an increase in antibiotic use. There were no new CDI-focused antimicrobial stewardship interventions introduced during this time.

The interplay of SARS-CoV-2 and Clostridioides difficile infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we practice medicine and lead our lives. In addition to pulmonary symptoms; COVID-19 as a syndrome has multisystemic involvement including frequent gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea. Due to microbiome alterations with COVID-19 and frequent antibiotic exposure, COVID-19 can be complicated by Clostridioides difficile infection. Co-infection with these two can be associated with a high risk of complications. Infection control measures in hospitals is enhanced due to the COVID-19 pandemic which in turn appears to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections such as C. difficile infection. Another implication of COVID-19 and its potential transmissibility by stool is microbiome-based therapies. Potential stool donors should be screened COVID-19 symptoms and be tested for COVID-19.

Prevalence of Clostridioides difficile and Other Gastrointestinal Pathogens in Patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in patients with COVID-19, but prevalence of co-infection with enteric pathogens is unknown. AIMS: This study assessed the prevalence of enteric infections among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We evaluated 4973 hospitalized patients ≥ 18 years of age tested for COVID-19 from March 11 through April 28, 2020, at two academic hospitals. The primary exposure was a positive COVID-19 test. The primary outcome was detection of a gastrointestinal pathogen by PCR stool testing. RESULTS: Among 4973 hospitalized individuals, 311 were tested for gastrointestinal infections (204 COVID-19 positive, 107 COVID-19 negative). Patients with COVID-19 were less likely to test positive compared to patients without COVID-19 (10% vs 22%, p < 0.01). This trend was driven by lower rates of non-C.difficile infections (11% vs 22% in COVID-19 positive vs. negative, respectively, p = 0.04), but not C. difficile infection (5.1% vs. 8.2%, p = 0.33). On multivariable analysis, infection with COVID-19 remained significantly associated with lower odds of concurrent GI infection (aOR 0.49, 95% CI 0.24-0.97), again driven by reduced non-C.difficile infection. Testing for both C.difficile and non-C.difficile enteric infection decreased dramatically during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Pathogens aside from C.difficile do not appear to be a significant contributor to diarrhea in COVID-19 positive patients.

Impact of COVID-19 prevention measures on risk of health care-associated Clostridium difficile infection.

Clostridium difficile is the most common pathogen between health care-associated infections and its incidence has increased during the last years. lack of enough evidence about effective hygiene interventions to prevent this disease. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID­19) pandemic, several strategies to reduce microorganism spread were adopted in hospital setting. The objective of this study was to establish whether such strategies can reduce health care associated C difficile infection (HA-CDI) incidence. We found that, during the pandemic (2020) HA-CDI incidence was significantly lower with respect to the previous years. This work demonstrates that maintaining this level of attention regarding control activities related to prevention of microorganism transmission significantly reduce HA-CDI and related expenses in terms of health costs and human lives.

Severe Clostridium difficile colitis as potential late complication associated with COVID-19.

Spain has been one of the most affected countries by the COVID-19 outbreak. After the high impact of the pandemic, a wide clinical spectrum of late complications associated with COVID-19 are being observed. We report a case of a severe Clostridium difficile colitis in a post-treatment and recovered COVID-19 patient. A 64-year-woman with a one-month hospital admission for severe bilateral pneumonia associated with COVID-19 and 10 days after discharge presented with diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Severe C. difficile-associated colitis is diagnosed according to clinical features and CT findings. An urgent pancolectomy was performed due to her bad response to conservative treatment. Later evolution slowly improved to recovery. C. difficile-associated colitis is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections. Significant patient-related risk factors for C. difficile infection are antibiotic exposure, older age, and hospitalisation. Initial therapeutic recommendations in our country included administration broad-spectrum antibiotics to all patients with bilateral pneumonia associated with SARS-CoV-2. These antibiotics are strongly associated with C. difficile infection. Our patient developed a serious complication of C. difficile due to the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The appearance of late digestive symptoms in patients diagnosed and treated for COVID-19 should alert clinicians to the possibility of C. difficile infection. The updated criteria for severe colitis and severe C. difficile infection should be considered to ensure an early effective treatment for the complication.