Acquisition of Clostridium difficile by Hospitalized Patients: Evidence for Colonized New Admissions as a Source of Infection

The frequency of introduction and spread of specific Clostridium difficile strains among hospitalized patients were assessed by serial cultures of patients admitted to a medical-surgical ward with endemic C. difficile-associated diarrhea. Stool cultures were obtained from 634 (94%) of 678 consecutive admissions to the ward (ward admissions), and all C. difficile isolates were typed by restriction endonuclease analysis. Sixty-five ward admissions...