Guidance

Clostridioides difficile infection: how to deal with the problem

Guidance on the most effective methods of prevention and control of Clostridioides difficile infection. This guidance is currently under review. Some sections of this guidance have been withdrawn.

• From: UK Health Security Agency and Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 1 December 2008
• Last updated: 24 October 2024 — See all updates

Documents

Clostridium difficile infection: How to deal with the problem

PDF, 1.01 MB, 116 pages

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Details

This guidance outlines the evidence and approaches to delivering good infection control and environmental hygiene, as well as C. difficile in the community and death certification.

Chapter 3 has been superseded by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance for Clostridioides infection: antimicrobial prescribing.

Chapter 4 has been superseded by the updated antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship principles in:

• UKHSA’s Antimicrobial stewardship: start smart then focus
• Department of Health and Social Care’s Guidance for compliance with criterion 3: antimicrobial use in the Health and Social Care Act 2008
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial medicine use [NG15].

Sections on the diagnosis and reporting of C. difficile infection have been superseded by the UKHSA HCAI Data Capture System.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 on the infection prevention and control management of C. difficile in healthcare settings should be read in conjunction with the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual.

If you need to see the withdrawn chapters, you can find them on the internet archives.

Published 1 December 2008
Last updated 24 October 2024 + show all updates

1. 24 October 2024

   Noted the chapters that have been withdrawn and superseded. Updated the PDF accordingly.

2. 6 September 2019

   Replaced name Clostridium difficile with Clostridioides difficile to reflect changes in microbial taxonomy.

3. 1 December 2008

   First published.