Table 4. Univariate analysis for fecal shedding of C. difficile in dogs and cats (Extraction).
| CD positive | CD negative | p-Value | OR | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic factors | |||||
| Age in years | |||||
| < 1 | 1 | 44 | 0.651 | 1.65 | 0.19–14.45 |
| 1–4 | 5 | 363 | Ref. | . | . |
| 5–9 | 13 | 267 | 0.018 | 3.53 | 1.25–10.04 |
| 10–22 | 6 | 141 | 0.066 | 3.09 | 0.93–10.28 |
| Health status | |||||
| Inappetence | 5 (20) | 28 (750) | <0.001 | 6.70 | 2.34–19.14 |
| Acute disease | 7 (16) | 53 (746) | <0.001 | 6.16 | 2.43–15.62 |
| Diarrhea during the last 4 weeks | 8 (15) | 127 (650) | 0.025 | 2.73 | 1.13–6.57 |
| Medication | |||||
| Anti-inflammatory drugs (regular intake) | 3 (21) | 34 (772) | 0.067 | 3.24 | 0.92–11.41 |
| Proton pump inhibitors (regular intake) | 4 (21) | 6 (801) | <0.001 | 25.43 | 6.68–96.85 |
| Antibiotics (during the preceding 3 months) |
12 (13) | 141 (667) | <0.001 | 4.37 | 1.95–9.77 |
| Food consumption | |||||
| Dry food | 14 (11) | 741 (74) | <0.001 | 0.13 | 0.06–0.29 |
| Dog/cat treats | 15 (10) | 592 (223) | 0.170 | 0.57 | 0.25–1.28 |
| Contacts—human/ animal | |||||
| Contact to a human with diarrhea | 11 (6) | 214 (379) | 0.022 | 3.25 | 1.18–8.90 |
| Owner of the tested animal has suffered from diarrhea during the last 4 weeks | 6 (14) | 86 (399) | 0.171 | 1.99 | 0.74–5.32 |
| Owner of the tested pet suffers from chronic disease | 10 (9) | 113 (370) | 0.006 | 3.64 | 1.44–9.17 |
| Person with chronic disease lives in the same household | 9 (9) | 135 (332) | 0.062 | 2.46 | 0.96–6.33 |
| Intensity of contact between owner and animal | |||||
| The animal is allowed to… | |||||
| … sleep in bed | 18 (7) | 521 (285) | 0.450 | 1.41 | 0.58–3.41 |
| … be washed in the tub/shower | 16 (9) | 352 (443) | 0.057 | 2.24 | 0.98–5.12 |
| … lick the owner’s face | 18 (7) | 471 (319) | 0.219 | 1.74 | 0.72–4.22 |
CD: Clostridium difficile isolation; Ref.: reference category; OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval. Authors’ comment: bracketed data indicate the number of participants not applying to the variable in row.