Incidence of Clostridioides difficile Infections in Republic of Korea: A Prospective Study With Active Surveillance vs. National Data From Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science 2024, 39(12), , pp.1-10
• Main Authors: Kim, Jieun, Myung, Rangmi, Kim, Bongyoung, Kim, Jinyeong, Kim, Tark, Lee, Mi Suk, Kim, Uh Jin, Park, Dae Won, Kim, Yeon-Sook, Lee, Chang-Seop, Kim, Eu Suk, Lee, Sun Hee, Chang, Hyun-Ha, Lee, Seung Soon, Park, Se Yoon, Choi, Hee Jung, Kim, Hye In, Ha, Young Eun, Wi, Yu Mi, Choi, Sungim, Shin, So Youn, Pai, Hyunjoo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clostridioides difficile; Clostridium Infections - diagnosis; Clostridium Infections - epidemiology; Cross Infection - epidemiology; Humans; Incidence; Insurance, Health; Original; Prospective Studies; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Tertiary Care Centers; Watchful Waiting; 의학일반
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e118

Since the emergence of hypervirulent strains of , the incidence of infections (CDI) has increased significantly. To assess the incidence of CDI in Korea, we conducted a prospective multicentre observational study from October 2020 to October 2021. Additionally, we calculated the incidence of CDI from mass data obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) from 2008 to 2020. In the prospective study with active surveillance, 30,212 patients had diarrhoea and 907 patients were diagnosed with CDI over 1,288,571 patient-days and 193,264 admissions in 18 participating hospitals during 3 months of study period; the CDI per 10,000 patient-days was 7.04 and the CDI per 1,000 admission was 4.69. The incidence of CDI was higher in general hospitals than in tertiary hospitals: 6.38 per 10,000 patient-days (range: 3.25-12.05) and 4.18 per 1,000 admissions (range: 1.92-8.59) in 11 tertiary hospitals, vs. 9.45 per 10,000 patient-days (range: 5.68-13.90) and 6.73 per 1,000 admissions (range: 3.18-15.85) in seven general hospitals. With regard to HIRA data, the incidence of CDI in all hospitals has been increasing over the 13-year-period: from 0.3 to 1.8 per 10,000 patient-days, 0.3 to 1.6 per 1,000 admissions, and 6.9 to 56.9 per 100,000 population, respectively. The incidence of CDI in Korea has been gradually increasing, and its recent value is as high as that in the United State and Europe. CDI is underestimated, particularly in general hospitals in Korea.