Incidence of C. difficile infection reduced by 45 percent with doxycycline among patients with prior history of CDI<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, Nov. 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), doxycycline is associated with a reduced risk for Clostridioides difficile<\/em> infection (CDI), according to a study published online Nov. 1 in the American Journal of Infection Control<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ashley L. O’Leary, Pharm.D., from the Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System in Buffalo, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis in hospitalized patients in Veterans Affairs Hospitals across the United States to examine whether doxycycline is associated with reduced CDI risk.<\/p>\n During the study timeframe, about 156,107 hospitalized patients received care at a Veterans Affairs Hospital and were diagnosed with CAP. The researchers found that compared with azithromycin, doxycycline used with ceftriaxone for the treatment of pneumonia was associated with a 17 percent reduced risk for CDI. The incidence of CDI was reduced by 45 percent for patients who had a prior history of CDI (odds ratio, 0.55).<\/p>\n “Our analysis found that in patients with a prior history of C. diff<\/em>, doxycycline was the only factor associated with a reduction in the incidence of new C. diff <\/em>infections,” senior author Kari A. Mergenhagen, Pharm.D., also from the Veterans Affairs of Western New York Healthcare System, said in a statement. “These results suggest that in cases where Legionella<\/em> pneumonia can be ruled out prior to treatment, patients at increased risk of\u00a0C. diff<\/em>\u00a0may benefit from the use of doxycycline as a first-line agent.”<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n