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Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Clostridium difficile among hospitalized diarrheal patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Dilnessa T, Getaneh A, Hailu W, Moges F, Gelaw B

PloS one, 2022

27 citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of infectious diarrhea that develops in patients after hospitalization during antibiotic administration. It has also become a big issue in community-acquired diarrhea. The emergence of hypervirulent strains of C. difficile poses a major problem in hospital-associated diarrhea outbreaks and it is difficult to treat. The antimicrobial resistance in C. difficile has worsened due to the inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics including cephalosporins, clindamycin, tetracycline, and fluoroquinolones together with the emergence of hypervirulent strains.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the pooled prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of C. difficile derived from hospitalized diarrheal patients, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed.

METHODS: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed to review published studies conducted. We searched bibliographic databases from PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library for studies on the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility testing on C. difficile. The weighted pooled prevalence and resistance for each antimicrobial agent was calculated using a random-effects model. A funnel plot and Egger's regression test were used to see publication bias.

RESULTS: A total of 15 studies were included. Ten articles for prevalence study and 5 additional studies for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of C.…

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