Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients in whom Clostridioides difficile tests were performed in hospital-onset settings
Variables | Appropriate testing (n = 297) | Inappropriate testing (n = 279) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
Male | 160 (53.9) | 148 (53.0) | 0.843 |
Age | 73 (60.5–81.0) | 72 (61.0–81.0) | 0.710 |
Charlson comorbidity score | 5 (3–8) | 4 (3–7) | 0.040 |
Patient location | Â | Â | Â |
 General ward | 243 (81.8) | 242 (86.7) | 0.106 |
 Intensive care unit | 53 (17.8) | 23 (8.2) | 0.001 |
 Emergency room | 1 (0.3) | 14 (5.0) | < 0.001 |
Physician specialty | Â | Â | Â |
 Internal medicine | 215 (72.4) | 177 (63.4) | 0.021 |
Indicators for severe CDI | Â | Â | Â |
 White blood cell ≥ 15000 cells/mm3 | 49 (16.5) | 35 (12.5) | 0.179 |
 Creatinine ≥ 1.5 mg/dl | 44 (14.8) | 46 (16.5) | 0.581 |
Albumin < 3 g/dl | 198 (66.7) | 170 (60.9) | 0.152 |
 ≥ 3 unformed stool within 24 h | 297 (100.0) | 58 (20.8) | < 0.001 |
Fever | 77 (25.9) | 64 (22.9) | 0.405 |
Shock | 33 (11.1) | 14 (5.0) | 0.008 |
Ileus | 34 (11.4) | 16 (5.7) | 0.015 |
Laxative in past 48 h | 15 (5.1) | 104 (37.3) | < 0.001 |
Antibiotics use in past 30Â days | 279 (93.9) | 258 (92.5) | 0.484 |
History of gastrointestinal surgery in past 30Â days | 20 (6.7) | 13 (4.7) | 0.284 |
Transferred from another hospital | 76 (25.6) | 70 (25.1) | 0.890 |
Days between admission and testing | 11 (6–19) | 10 (5–17) | 0.162 |