Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea is the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhoea and has a high morbidity and mortality among infected patients. Its prevalence and recurrence rates increase with age. Influencing local antibiotic practice can have an impact on infection rates, and this and other specific strategies to reduce the incidence and relapse rates of C. difficile-associated diarrhoea are needed. Reduction of C. difficile-associated diarrhoea rates would have enormous positive resource implications for health services, primarily by reducing length of hospital stay, and would also reduce mortality and morbidity in hospital inpatients.
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