Hot Topic: Translating the Updated IDSA C. difficile Infection Guidelines to Clinical Practice

Hot Topic: Translating the Updated IDSA C. difficile Infection Guidelines to Clinical Practice is organized by Vemco MedEd, LLC and will be held from Aug 15, 2018 - Aug 15, 2019.

Target Audience:
This continuing medical education activity is planned to meet the needs of physicians, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals in a variety of practice settings, including large and small healthcare systems, outpatient clinics, managed care organizations, long-term care facilities, and academia who are responsible for the management of patients with or at risk for C. difficile infection and/or recurrence.

Accreditation:
Physicians:
Center designates this Enduring material for a maximum of 1.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.

Pharmacists:
Center has assigned 1.75 contact hours (0.175 CEUs) of continuing pharmacy education credits for participating in this activity.

Educational Overview:
C. difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection and mortality in the US. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized C. difficile infection as an urgent public health threat. The emergence of the BI/NAP1/027 hypervirulent strain has resulted in greater morbidity and mortality and a high likelihood of recurrence. Optimal management requires stratifying patients based on risk for complications and recurrence and selecting the appropriate treatment regimen.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) along with the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) released updated C. difficile clinical practice guidelines in February 2018 that provide evidence-based recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of initial and recurrent CDI episodes. Therefore, any clinician involved in the diagnosis and management of CDI must be made aware of these guidelines along with the latest clinical evidence of newer therapeutic approaches in order to optimize outcomes for their patients.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completing this activity, participants will be able to:
• Describe the pathophysiologic processes involved in C. difficile infection (CDI) and the role of patient immune response in disease manifestation
• Evaluate approaches to assess patient risk for CDI recurrence to help guide management decisions to improve outcomes
• Implement the latest evidence-based guideline recommendations in the treatment of initial and recurrent CDI episodes

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.