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Baseline stool toxin concentration is associated with risk of recurrence in children with Clostridioides difficile infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2023

Thomas J. Sandora*
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Larry K. Kociolek
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United StatesNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States
David N. Williams
Affiliation:
Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Kaitlyn Daugherty
Affiliation:
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Christine Geer
Affiliation:
Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Christine Cuddemi
Affiliation:
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Xinhua Chen
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Hua Xu
Affiliation:
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Timothy J. Savage
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDivision of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Alice Banz
Affiliation:
bioMerieux, Marcy L’Etoile, France
Kevin W. Garey
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Houston, Texas, United States
Anne J. Gonzales-Luna
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Houston, Texas, United States
Ciarán P. Kelly
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Nira R. Pollock
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
*
Author for correspondence: Thomas J. Sandora, E-mail: thomas.sandora@childrens.harvard.edu
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Abstract

Background:

In adults with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), higher stool concentrations of toxins A and B are associated with severe baseline disease, CDI-attributable severe outcomes, and recurrence. We evaluated whether toxin concentration predicts these presentations in children with CDI.

Methods:

We conducted a prospective cohort study of inpatients aged 2–17 years with CDI who received treatment. Patients were followed for 40 days after diagnosis for severe outcomes (intensive care unit admission, colectomy, or death, categorized as CDI primarily attributable, CDI contributed, or CDI not contributing) and recurrence. Baseline stool toxin A and B concentrations were measured using ultrasensitive single-molecule array assay, and 12 plasma cytokines were measured when blood was available.

Results:

We enrolled 187 pediatric patients (median age, 9.6 years). Patients with severe baseline disease by IDSA-SHEA criteria (n = 34) had nonsignificantly higher median stool toxin A+B concentration than those without severe disease (n = 122; 3,217.2 vs 473.3 pg/mL; P = .08). Median toxin A+B concentration was nonsignificantly higher in children with a primarily attributed severe outcome (n = 4) versus no severe outcome (n = 148; 19,472.6 vs 429.1 pg/mL; P = .301). Recurrence occurred in 17 (9.4%) of 180 patients. Baseline toxin A+B concentration was significantly higher in patients with versus without recurrence: 4,398.8 versus 280.8 pg/mL (P = .024). Plasma granulocyte colony-stimulating factor concentration was significantly higher in CDI patients versus non-CDI diarrhea controls: 165.5 versus 28.5 pg/mL (P < .001).

Conclusions:

Higher baseline stool toxin concentrations are present in children with CDI recurrence. Toxin quantification should be included in CDI treatment trials to evaluate its use in severity assessment and outcome prediction.

Information

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Figure 0

Table 1.Demographics, Comorbidities, Baseline Laboratory Features, and Clinical Outcomes for Study Participants With CDI (N = 187)

Figure 1

Table 2.Association of Baseline Stool Toxin Concentration With Baseline CDI Severity by IDSA-SHEA Scorea

Figure 2

Fig. 1.Dot plots showing distribution of toxin concentrations (measured by Simoa) and Ct values (measured by Xpert NAAT) in patients with a severe outcome primarily attributable to CDI, those in whom CDI contributed to a severe outcome, those who had a severe outcome unrelated to CDI, and those without a severe outcome. (A) Simoa Toxin A concentration. (B) Simoa Toxin B concentration. (C) Simoa Toxin A+B concentration. (D) Xpert Ct value. The bottom and top edges of the boxes for each cohort indicate the interquartile range, the horizontal line bisecting the box indicates the median value, and the whiskers represent 1.5 times the IQR from the top and bottom of the box. Data points that exceed these values are outliers. P values for comparison of the respective medians (4-way, all 4 groups compared; 2-way, only primarily-attributable severe outcome compared with no severe outcome) are shown. Note. CDI, Clostridioides difficile infection; Simoa, single molecule array; Ct, cycle threshold; NAAT, nucleic acid amplification test.

Figure 3

Fig. 2.Dot plots showing distribution of toxin concentrations (measured by Simoa) and Ct values (measured by Xpert NAAT) in patients without CDI recurrence and with CDI recurrence within 40 days. (A) Simoa Toxin A concentration. (B) Simoa Toxin B concentration. (C) Simoa Toxin A + B concentration. (D) Xpert Ct value. The bottom and top edges of the boxes for each cohort indicate the interquartile range, the horizontal line bisecting the box indicates the median value and the whiskers represent 1.5 times the IQR from the top and bottom of the box. Data points that exceed these values are outliers. P values for comparison of the respective medians are shown. Patients were excluded from analysis of recurrence if they remained on CDI treatment throughout the 40-day follow-up period. There were 180 patients (from the initial cohort of 187 patients) included in the recurrence analysis. Note. CDI, Clostridioides difficile infection; Simoa, single-molecule array; Ct, cycle threshold; NAAT, nucleic-acid amplification test.

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