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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Mar 24.
Published in final edited form as: JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Jul 22;173(14):1359–1367. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.7056

Table 1.

Demographics, Clinical Characteristics, and Outcomes Among Patients With Community-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection, 2009 Through 2011

Variable Value (n = 984)

Age, median (range), y 51 (1–97)
Female sex, No. (%) 655 (66.6)
Race, No. (%)
 White 849 (86.3)
 Black 79 (8.0)
 Asian, Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander 20 (2.0)
 Native American 13 (1.3)
 Unknown 23 (2.3)
Charlson comorbidity index, median (range) 0 (0–14)
Select medical conditions, No. (%)a
 Pulmonary disease 136 (13.8)
 Solid tumor, nonmetastatic 110 (11.2)
 Inflammatory bowel disease 105 (10.7)
 Chronic renal insufficiency 67 (6.8)
 Diverticular disease 62 (6.3)
 None 391 (39.7)
Medication use within 12 wk before C difficile infection, No./total No. (%)a
 Antibioticsb 631 (64.1)
  Cephalosporins 149/631 (23.6)
  β-Lactam or β-lactamase inhibitors 145/631 (23.0)
  Penicillins 143/631 (22.7)
  Fluoroquinolones 139/631 (22.0)
  Clindamycin 119/631 (18.9)
  Macrolides 60/631 (9.5)
  Folic acid inhibitors 38/631 (6.0)
  Tetracyclines 15/631 (2.4)
 Proton pump inhibitors 273 (27.7)
 H2-receptor antagonists 90 (9.1)
 Immune-suppressing agentsc 91 (9.2)
Hospitalization, No./total No. (%)d 251 (25.5)
C difficile infection primary reason 125/251 (49.8)
 Admitted to an intensive care unit within 30 d of C difficile infection 12/251 (4.8)
 White blood cell count ≤1000/μL or ≥15 000/μL 67/251 (26.7)
 Toxic megacolon or ileus on radiography 8/251 (3.2)
 Colectomy within 30 d of C difficile infection 2/251 (0.8)
 Death within 30 d of C difficile infection 4/251 (1.6)
 Severe C difficile infection outcomee 15/251 (6.0)
Patients having C difficile infection with NAP strain type result available, No. (%) 313(31.8)
NAP, No./total No. (%)
 1 68/313 (21.7)
 2 10/313 (3.2)
 3 4/313 (1.3)
 4 36/313 (11.5)
 5 3/313 (1.0)
 6 23/313 (7.3)
 7 19/313 (6.1)
 8 2/313 (0.6)
 9 7/313 (2.2)
 10 9/313 (2.9)
 11 34/313 (10.9)
 12 6/313 (1.9)
 Unnamed NAP type 92/313 (29.4)

Abbreviation: NAP, North American pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type.

a

SI conversion factor: To convert white blood cell count to ×109/L, multiply by 0.001. Medical conditions and medications used are not mutually exclusive.

b

The median (range) number of antibiotic classes is 1 (1–5).

c

Chemotherapy, corticosteroid use, or interleukin receptor antagonists. Inhaled corticosteroids are not included.

d

Hospitalization at the time of or within 7 days after the C difficile specimen collection date.

e

Death, colectomy, or admission to an intensive care unit within 30 days of the C difficile specimen collection date.