[The Norrköping study. Cephalosporins are often the implicating factors in Clostridium difficile infections].

In a retrospective study carried out at Norrköping Central Hospital, the incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea and colitis was found to be correlated to in-patient consumption (in terms of defined daily doses) of the implicated anti-microbial agents. The third generation cephalosporin, cefotaxime, was implicated 38 times more often than small spectrum penicillins. In general, the cephalosporins were predominantly responsible, accounting for 46 per cent (67/147) of the episodes but only 12 per cent of overall consumption of antibiotics at the hospital. These findings are in accord with data previously published in the nationwide report by the Medical Product Agency, Uppsala.