3.3. Antibiotic choices for treatment of CDI (primary and recurrent
infection)
Respondents indicated their antibiotic choices for the management
of primary mild CDI as well as for subsequent mild recurrences,
as shown in Table 1. Most respondents (84%) selected
oral metronidazole for treatment of the initial episode of CDI. Oral
vancomycin (fixed or tapered dosing schedule) became the
preferred treatment of choice for patients with recurrent CDI, even
with the first recurrence. Other drug choices (fidaxomicin, rifaximin
and nitazoxanide) were increasingly selected, proportionate
with the number of recurrences. Duration of respondents’ selected
therapy for patients with their second recurrence of mild CDI
(primarily vancomycin), indicated by 285 respondents, ranged from
10 to 14 days (43%), 15e28 days (29%), 29e56 days (24%) to > 56
days (4%).