Fewer patients are going to emergency departments for C difficile infections in the U.S. from 2014 to 2024, according to a study published last week. CIDRAP has the news.

The potentially deadly infection is diagnosed almost half a million times per year in the U.S., and "most infections occur while or after taking antibiotics." However, the overall incidence declined from 2.94 per 1,000 ED visits to 2.07 over the study period, which represents a "relative decline of 30%." However, incidence rates did jump 59% among people aged 18 to 24.

A growing number of people in recent years have "developed the infection outside the hospital." Numbers may be going down in hospitals themselves because ED staff have changed the way they treat the infection.

Prescriptions for the antibiotic metronidazole fell from 66% to 30%, which reflects changes in recommendations from medical organizations. Vancomycin was recommended instead, and use of that drug increased 80% over the period of the study. Continuing use of metronidazole "suggests that emergency department staff aren't following guidelines closely enough."