Increase in Adult<i>Clostridium difficile</i>–related Hospitalizations and Case-Fatality Rate, United States, 2000–2005

Abstract

Virulence of and deaths from Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) are on the rise in the United States. The incidence of adult CDAD hospitalizations doubled from 5.5 cases per 10,000 population in 2000 to 11.2 in 2005, and the CDAD-related age-adjusted case-fatality rate rose from 1.2% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2004.