Table 2.
Characteristics of the Study Population
| Overall (n = 629) | Immunocompetent (n = 522) | Immunocompromised (n = 107) | P Valued | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | Age, y | 53.2 ± 18.3 | 54.1 ± 18.7 | 48.8 ± 15.7 | .011 |
| Recent antibiotic exposure | 80 (12.7) | 62 (11.9) | 18 (16.8) | .201 | |
| Recent travel | 22 (3.5) | 22 (4.2) | 0 (0) | .021 | |
| HIV | 11 (1.7) | N/A | 11 (10.3) | N/A | |
| Transplant | 40 (6.4) | N/A | 40 (37.4) | N/A | |
| Other immunosuppression | 56 (8.9) | N/A | 56 (52.3) | N/A | |
| Inflammatory bowel disease | 61 (9.7) | 24 (4.6) | 37 (34.6) | <.001 | |
| Clinical | Duration of diarrhea, da | .137 | |||
| Characteristics | <3 | 53 (8.8) | 39 (7.8) | 14 (14.4) | |
| 3–7 | 75 (12.5) | 67 (13.3) | 8 (8.2) | ||
| 7–14 | 61 (10.2) | 52 (10.4) | 9 (9.3) | ||
| >14 | 410 (68.4) | 344 (68.5) | 66 (68) | ||
| Vomiting | 76 (12.1) | 65 (12.5) | 11 (10.3) | .627 | |
| Abdominal pain | 325 (51.7) | 284 (54.4) | 41 (38.3) | .003 | |
| Fecal urgency | 46 (7.3) | 35 (6.7) | 11 (10.3) | .220 | |
| Tenesmus | 4 (0.6) | 3 (0.6) | 1 (0.9) | .527 | |
| Flatulence | 18 (2.9) | 16 (3.1) | 2 (1.9) | .751 | |
| Subjective fever | 49 (7.8) | 43 (8.2) | 6 (5.6) | .432 | |
| Blood in stool | 78 (12.4) | 76 (14.6) | 2 (1.9) | <.001 | |
| Pathogen | Any pathogen | 127 (20.2) | 99 (19) | 28 (26.2) | .112 |
| Detection | Pathogen warranting antimicrobial therapyb | 18 (2.9) | 14 (2.7) | 4 (3.7) | .526 |
| Clinically relevant pathogenc | 33 (5.2) | 14 (2.7) | 19 (17.8) | <.001 | |
| Treatment | Empiric antimicrobials given | 33 (5.2) | 33 (6.3) | 0 (0) | .003 |
| Antimicrobials given after test result | 50 (7.9) | 40 (7.7) | 10 (9.3) | .557 |
Data are presented as No. (%) for dichotomous variables and mean ± SD for continuous variables.
an = 599.
bPathogen for which antimicrobial therapy is indicated.
cPathogen for which a change in management is indicated (includes titration of immunosuppressive medications and withholding antibiotics for shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli).
dTest for difference between immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients; Fisher exact test for dichotomous variables and 2-sided t test for continuous variables.