Impact of oral vancomycin treatment duration on rate of Clostridioides difficile recurrence in patients requiring concurrent systemic antibiotics.

BACKGROUND

There is a paucity of data guiding treatment duration of oral vancomycin for Clostridiodes difficile infection (CDI) in patients requiring concomitant systemic antibiotics.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate prescribing practices of vancomycin for CDI in patients that required concurrent systemic antibiotics and to determine whether a prolonged duration of vancomycin (>14 days), compared to a standard duration (10-14 days), decreased CDI recurrence.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated adult hospitalized patients with an initial episode of CDI who were treated with vancomycin and who received overlapping systemic antibiotics for >72 hours. Outcomes of interest included CDI recurrence and isolation of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

RESULTS

Among the 218 patients included, 36% received a standard duration and 64% received a prolonged duration of treatment for a median of 13 days (11-14) and 20 days (16-26), respectively. Patients who received a prolonged duration had a longer median duration of systemic antibiotic overlap with vancomycin (11 vs 8 days; P < .001) and significantly more carbapenem use and infectious disease consultation. Recurrence at 8 weeks (12% standard duration vs 8% prolonged duration; P = .367), recurrence at 6 months (15% standard duration vs 10% prolonged duration; P = .240), and VRE isolation (3% standard duration vs 9% prolonged duration; P = .083) were not significantly different between groups. Discontinuation of vancomycin prior to completion of antibiotics was an independent predictor of 8-week recurrence on multivariable logistic regression (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.3-18.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Oral vancomycin prescribing relative to the systemic antibiotic end date may affect CDI recurrence to a greater extent than total vancomycin duration alone. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.