Table 1.
Patient demographics and culture results for the study population. The percentage of patients for each criterion is shown, along with the number of patients presented in parentheses
| Patient characteristics (N = 98) | Percentage of total (n) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | Female | 64 % (63) |
| Age | >64 years | 62 % (61) |
| Mean age | 67 years | |
| Co-morbidity | Pulmonary disease | 42 % (41) |
| Diabetes | 33 % (32) | |
| Coronary disease | 31 % (30) | |
| Kidney disease | 25 % (24) | |
| Cancer | 24 % (23) | |
| Symptoms | Abdominal pain | 60 % (59) |
| Fever | 32 % (31) | |
| Stool mucus | 23 % (22) | |
| Stool blood | 12 % (12) | |
| Stool consistency at assessment | Bristol 6–7 (unformed) | 62 % (61) |
| Bristol 4–5 (soft formed) | 36 % (35) | |
| Bristol 1–3 (hard formed) | 2 % (2) | |
| Overall clinical condition | Severe | 25 % (24) |
| Moderate | 67 % (66) | |
| Mild | 8 % (8) | |
| Patient history | Antibiotics | 75 % (73) |
| Antibiotics and CDI | 14 % (14) | |
| No prior antibiotics | 10 % (10) | |
| CDI with no antibiotics | 1 % (1) | |
| Culture | Toxigenic CDI | 87 % (85) |
| Nontoxigenic CDI | 6 % (6) | |
| Mixed | 1 % (1) | |
| No growth | 6 % (6) | |
| Ribotype | 027 | 45 % (38) |
| Non-027 | 55 % (47) | |