Reporting Bias in Clostridium difficile Hospitalizations
Author Information
Author(s): Marya D. Zilberberg
Primary Institution: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Hypothesis
Does reporting bias affect the observed increase in Clostridium difficile hospitalizations in the United States from 2000 to 2005?
Conclusion
The increase in Clostridium difficile hospitalizations in the U.S. from 2000 to 2005 is not fully explained by reporting bias for other gastroenteric infections.
Supporting Evidence
- Annual incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated disease increased from 49.2 to 101.6 per 100,000 population from 2000 to 2005.
- The incidence of CDAD as the principal diagnosis more than doubled during the same period.
Takeaway
The study looked at whether doctors were misreporting cases of a stomach bug to explain why more people were being hospitalized for Clostridium difficile. It found that this wasn't the main reason for the increase.
Methodology
Analyzed hospitalization data for gastrointestinal infections from the National Inpatient Sample and U.S. Census data from 2000 to 2005.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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