Table 1.
Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients Receiving Laxatives (LAX-48) or Not Receiving Laxatives (NO-LAX-48) Within 48 Hours Prior to Clostridiodes difficile Infection Diagnosis
| LAX-48 (n = 65) | NO-LAX-48 (n = 144) | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient Characteristics | na | % | na | % | |
| Male (%) | 34 | 52.3 | 64 | 44.4 | .299 |
| Median (IQR) age, years | 61 (47–70) | 66 (54–77) | .944 | ||
| Race | .390 | ||||
| White | 48 | 73.8 | 97 | 67.4 | |
| African American | 9 | 13.8 | 20 | 13.9 | |
| Asian | 2 | 3.1 | 8 | 5.6 | |
| Hispanic | 2 | 3.1 | 11 | 7.6 | |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 1.5 | 6 | 4.2 | |
| Unknown | 3 | 4.6 | 2 | 1.4 | |
| Hospital unit at diagnosis | .610 | ||||
| ICU | 8 | 12.3 | 16 | 11.1 | |
| Medical/surgical | 50 | 76.9 | 102 | 70.8 | |
| Oncology | 6 | 9.2 | 23 | 16.0 | |
| ED | 1 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.1 | |
| ICU stay within 1 week prior to diagnosis | 16 | 24.6 | 25 | 17.4 | .260 |
| Major surgery within 1 week prior to diagnosis | 9 | 13.8 | 9 | 6.3 | .107 |
| Immunocompromised | 18 | 27.7 | 51 | 35.4 | .341 |
| Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR) | 3 (1–4) | 2 (1–4) | .053 | ||
| History of prior CDI | 13 | 20.0 | 44 | 30.6 | .132 |
| Number of prior CDI episodes | .300 | ||||
| 1 | 10 | 15.4 | 26 | 18.1 | |
| 2 | 2 | 3.1 | 11 | 7.6 | |
| ≥3 | 1 | 1.5 | 7 | 4.9 | |
| Stool consistency | .716 | ||||
| Liquid | 36 | 55.4 | 86 (n = 143) | 60.1 | |
| Semiformed | 28 | 43.1 | 56 (n = 143) | 39.2 | |
| Formedb | 1 | 1.5 | 1 (n = 143) | 0.7 | |
| Abdominal tenderness | 10 | 15.4 | 28 | 19.4 | .564 |
| Temperature ≥38.0°C within 24 hours of diagnosis | 12 | 18.5 | 33 | 22.9 | .586 |
| Systolic BP <100 mm Hg within 24 hours of diagnosis | 29 | 44.6 | 57 | 39.6 | .545 |
| Renal replacement therapy at baseline | 7 | 10.8 | 9 | 6.3 | .270 |
| AKI (peak Cr ≥1.5× baseline) | 6 (n = 60) | 10.0 | 14 (n = 141) | 9.9 | 1.000 |
| Median (IQR) WBC peak –5 days to +2 days of diagnosis, × 103/mL | 14.5 (7–18.7) | 12 (8–19.7) (n = 143) | .277 | ||
| WBC ≥15 × 103/mL | 31 | 47.7 | 52 (n = 143) | 36.4 | .130 |
| Median (IQR) albumin nadir –5 days to +2 days of diagnosis, g/dL | 3.0 (2.5–3.3) (n = 45) | 3.2 (2.7–3.6) (n = 121) | .045 | ||
| Median (IQR) lactate peak within 24 hours, mmol/L | 1.6 (1.2–1.8) (n = 11) | 1.6 (1.2–2.4) (n = 74) | .808 | ||
| Colitis on imaging | 7 (n = 21) | 33.3 | 42 (n = 78) | 53.8 | .140 |
| Colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy with pseudomembranes | 0 (n = 5) | 0.0 | 1 (n = 5) | 20.0 | 1.000 |
| BI/NAP1/027 strain | 11 | 16.9 | 19 | 13.2 | .524 |
| Received antibiotics within 48 hours prior to diagnosis | 40 | 61.5 | 77 | 53.5 | .296 |
Abbreviations: AKI, acute kidney injury; BP, blood pressure; CDI, Clostridiodes difficile infection; Cr, creatinine; ED, emergency department; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; WBC, white blood count.
aUnless otherwise noted in parentheses for variables where not all patients had data obtained.
bConsidered as formed by our researchers, but previously categorized as unformed when accepted for testing by the microbiology lab.