Increasing hospitalization and death possibly due to Clostridium difficilediarrheal disease

This study calculated yearly estimated national hospital discharge (1985 to 1994) and age-adjusted death rates (1980 to 1992) due to bacterial, viral, protozoal, and ill-defined enteric pathogens. Infant and young child hospi talization (but not death) rates in each category increased more than 50% d uring 1990 to 1994. Age-adjusted death and hospitalization rates due to ent eric bacterial infections and hospitalizations due to enteric viral infecti ons have increased since 1988. The increases in hospitalization and death r ates from enteric bacterial infections were due to a more than eightfold in crease in rates for specified enteric bacterial infections that were uncode d during this period (ICD9 00849). To identify bacterial agents responsible for most of these infections, hospital discharges and outpatient claims (c oded with more detail after 1992) were examined for New Mexico's Lovelace H ealth Systems for 1993 to 1996. Of diseases due to uncoded enteric pathogen s, 73% were due to Clostridium difficile infection. Also, 88% of Washington State death certificates (1985 to 1996) coded to unspecified enteric patho gen infections (ICD0084) listed C. difficile infection.