Collection

Clostridium difficile: guidance, data and analysis

The characteristics, diagnosis, management, surveillance and epidemiology of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).

Contents

  1. Diagnosis and management
  2. Data submission
  3. Epidemiology

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a bacterium that’s found in people’s intestines. It can be found in healthy people, where it causes no symptoms (up to 3% of adults and 66% of babies).

C. difficile causes disease when the normal bacteria in the gut are disadvantaged, usually by someone taking antibiotics. This allows C. difficile to grow to unusually high levels. It also allows the toxin that some strains of C. difficile produce, to reach levels where it attacks the intestines and causes mild to severe diarrhoea.

C. difficile can lead to more serious infections of the intestines with severe inflammation of the bowel (pseudomembranous colitis). C. difficile is the biggest cause of infectious diarrhoea in hospitalised patients.

You can become infected with C. difficile if you ingest the bacterium (through contact with a contaminated environment or person). People who become infected with C. difficile are usually those who’ve taken antibiotics, particularly the elderly and people whose immune systems are compromised.

Diagnosis and management

  1. Clostridium difficile: what it is, how to prevent, how to treat

    • 1 February 2009
    • Guidance

  2. Clostridium difficile: updated guidance on diagnosis and reporting

    • 6 March 2012
    • Guidance

  3. Clostridium difficile infection: guidance on management and treatment

    • 1 June 2013
    • Guidance

  4. Clostridium difficile infection: how to deal with the problem

    • 1 December 2008
    • Guidance

  5. Clostridium difficile infection (CDI): management in care homes

    • 1 August 2010
    • Research and analysis

Data submission

See also Updated guidance on the diagnosis and reporting of Clostridium difficile.

  1. Clostridium difficile infection: criteria for reporting

    • 1 January 2014
    • Guidance

Epidemiology

PHE has carried out mandatory enhanced surveillance of C. difficile infection since April 2007 for NHS acute trusts; patient-level data of any C. difficile infections are reported monthly to PHE. Independent sector (IS) healthcare organisations providing regulated activities also undertake surveillance of C. difficile infection.

  1. Clostridium difficile infection: monthly data by NHS acute trust

    • 4 February 2015
    • Statistics

  2. Clostridium difficile infection: monthly data by attributed clinical commissioning group

    • 4 February 2015
    • Statistics

  3. Clostridium difficile infection: annual data

    • 10 July 2014
    • Statistics

  4. Clostridium difficile: annual trends in voluntary surveillance

    • 21 February 2014
    • Research and analysis

  5. MRSA, MSSA and E. coli bacteraemia and C. difficile infection: annual epidemiological commentary

    • 10 July 2014
    • Statistics

  6. MRSA, MSSA and E. coli bacteraemia and C. difficile infection: quarterly epidemiological commentary

    • 11 December 2014
    • Statistics

  7. MRSA, MSSA and E. coli bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile infection: annual data for independent sector healthcare organisations

    • 7 October 2014
    • Statistics

  8. MRSA, MSSA and E. coli bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile infection: 6-monthly data for independent sector healthcare organisations

    • 1 April 2014
    • Statistics

  9. Clostridium difficile ribotyping network (CDRN) report

    • 1 January 2014
    • Research and analysis
Published:
1 July 2014
From:
Public Health England