4. Discussion
Our results demonstrate that most of the responding ID clinicians
routinely care for patients with CDI. How closely respondents
adhere to SHEA/IDSA Treatment Guidelines [1] depends upon the
features of the case. Most respondents adhere to the guidelines for
mild, initial CDI cases. In contrast, a majority chose treatments at
variance with guidelines for patients with the first recurrence of
CDI: rather than the recommended metronidazole; alternate
agents (ie, vancomycin) are frequently chosen instead or are added
as second agents. When treating a second recurrence, members
reported the use of antimicrobials not discussed in the guidelines,
such as rifaximin and nitazoxanide, albeit in low numbers. Fidaxomicin,
which was FDA-approved for the treatment of CDI [12] after
the release of the 2010 SHEA/IDSA Guidelines, is used by a sizeable
minority of practitioners only after patients have experienced a
second recurrence. The heterogeneity of treatment approaches for
recurrent CDI cases, often at variance with guideline recommendations,
suggests a lack of consensus on how to manage and treat
such cases. These findings also highlight the need for controlled
trials using more novel agents to guide evidence-based treatment
in patients with RCDI.