Overview

o Symposium highlights from a live session at a national conference where C. diff experts, Dr. Paul Feuerstadt, Dr. Kevin Garey, and Dr. Carolyn Alonso present a variety of patient cases highlighting how to best interrupt the cycle of CDI recurrence. Faculty also discuss the risks of recurrence as well as current guidelines for CDI treatment and prevention.
o View the patient cases and expanded insights to help you mitigate the risk of C. diff recurrence.

This educational activity is designed for hospital pharmacists, ID physicians, hospitalists, critical care physicians, and other healthcare providers who treat patients at risk for CDI.

Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive bacteria that causes diarrhea, abdominal bloating, and colitis. As such, it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, increased healthcare costs, and hospital readmission rates. Surveillance data indicate an overall decrease in C. difficile infections (CDI) and associated hospitalizations owing to declines in health care-associated infections. However, the number of community-associated cases has remained unchanged and the number of patients with multiple recurrent episodes has increased. As such, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to classify C. difficile as an urgent threat given the great burden on patients and the healthcare system. 

A changing epidemiology, new therapies, accumulating clinical trial, and real-world data have ushered in advances in the treatment of CDI. The American College of Gastroenterology and a panel from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (IDSA/SHEA) both released updated clinical practice guidelines on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of C. difficile in 2021 to capture new data. There are important differences between these guidelines as those from IDSA/SHEA no longer recommend metronidazole for initial or recurrent episodes and overall recommend more aggressive therapy with a preference for fidaxomicin. Upon completing this activity, clinicians will become more familiar with the advances and evolving changes in the selection and application of antimicrobial therapies for treating initial and recurrent CDI.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
• Discuss the selection of antimicrobials considerate of their spectrum and impact on gut microbiota 
• Recognize the role of antitoxins in the prevention of recurrent CDI 
• Apply available and updated clinical guidelines to ensure evidence-based therapeutic selection for treatment and prevention of recurrent CDI in diverse patient populations
• Describe clinical risk factors that increase a patient’s risk for recurrent and multiply recurrent C. difficile infection
• Employ diagnostic methods to improve recognition of CDI in both the hospital and community setting 

Sponsored by the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL). 

Supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc. 

1. Active Internet connection (DSL or Cable). Dial-up connection will have constant buffering problem.
2. Compatible with Windows PC and MAC (256 MB of RAM or higher)
3. Activity is best viewed on Internet Explorer 10.0 or higher, Safari 5.0 or higher and Firefox 29.0 or higher
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5. Adobe Reader to print certificate. Click here to download Adobe Reader for free.
6. Allow ActiveX controls to run on your computer: If the yellow strip appears on the top of your web browser while running the Webcast, right click on it and select Allow blocked contents to run.
7. Turn the Pop-up blocker off: On the Tools menu, point to Pop-up Blocker, and then click Turn Off Pop-up Blocker