Release Date: Thursday, May 2, 2019       Expiration Date: Saturday, May 2, 2020              
 
EDUCATIONAL OVERVIEW

C. difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and mortality in the US. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that, though there was a 16% reduction in HAIs from 2011 to 2015, there was no substantial decline in the incidence of CDI. The CDC has recognized C. difficile infection as an urgent public health threat and emphasizes the importance of continued efforts in prevention of these infections. The emergence of the BI/NAP1/027 hypervirulent strain has resulted in greater morbidity and mortality and a high likelihood of recurrence. Approximately 25% of patients with a first CDI episode will experience a recurrent episode, and the recurrence rate increases with each subsequent recurrence. As such, CDI continues to present numerous challenges to clinicians in controlling the clinical and economic burden of these infections.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) released their highly-anticipated update of the C. difficile clinical practice guidelines in February 2018. Since the release of the previous guidelines in 2010, several advancements in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of recurrence have been made that are addressed in the new guidelines. Hospital-based clinicians involved in the prevention and management of CDI must be made aware of the latest evidence-based recommendations. However, the guidelines only provide a basic model for clinicians when making management decisions. The guidelines also do not include the latest clinical evidence on the use of immunotherapy in the prevention of recurrent CDI episodes. Further practical guidance is needed to assist clinicians in translating the guideline recommendations into clinical practice behavior in order to optimize outcomes based on clinical setting, underlying disease, patient type, and risk factors for severe or recurrent infection. The release of the updated guidelines now provides an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of the burden and consequences of CDI, as well as educate clinicians on the latest approaches to optimize prevention and management strategies.

As a key patient advocate in acute care settings, the hospitalist plays a major role in ensuring that appropriate measures are in place for their patients with or at risk for C. difficile infection (CDI). Hospitalists not only ensure that appropriate preventive and diagnostic measures are performed, but they are an invaluable member of the interprofessional healthcare team involved in clinical decision-making. Therefore, hospitalists must be fully aware of the latest IDSA/SHEA clinical management guidelines and recognize how to translate these recommendations into clinical practice. This activity will review the evidence supporting the guideline recommendations on treatment of initial and recurrent episodes of CDI as well as appraise the latest approaches aimed at minimizing the risk of CDI recurrence. These approaches can include assessing patient risk, appropriate antimicrobial selection, optimized dosing regimens, and the use of immunotherapy.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Optimal management of CDI requires contributions from all HCPs, including hospitalists, involved in the management of patients at risk for these infections. Therefore, this program targets hospitalists who play a role in managing and preventing infections at healthcare institutions.


 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this activity, participants will be able to:

  • List patient factors that increase the risk for C. difficile infection and recurrence
  • Apply the latest evidence-based guideline recommendations when selecting appropriate treatment for an initial or recurrent episode of C. difficile infection
  • Evaluate the latest therapeutic approaches to prevent
    C. difficile
    infection recurrence

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Please click here to view the updated IDSA CDI Guidelines

 

EDUCATIONAL FORMAT

This Online Presentation is based on the Satellite Symposium presented at Hospital Medicine 2019. It is divided into 4 easy and quick to view episodes.

Episode 1

Identifying and Transitioning Patients with CDI:
Roles and Responsibilities of the Hospitalist
William Ford, MD

Episode 2

Treatment of Initial and First Recurrence of CDI
Jason Gallagher, PharmD

Episode 3
Addressing the Burden of CDI Recurrence
Ciarán Kelly, MD

Episode 4
Q&A

Note: If you have received credit for attending the live program by the same name, you are not eligible to apply for credit for this online version.


FACULTY

William T. Ford, MD, SFHM
Regional Director Hospital Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Abbington Jefferson Health
Abbington, PA

Jason C. Gallagher,
PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, FIDSA, BCPS

Clinical Professor
Clinical Specialist, Infectious Diseases
Director, PGY2 Residency in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA

Ciarán P. Kelly, MD
Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Director Gastroenterology Fellowship Training
Director Celiac Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA

 

 

Physicians
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of Center for Independent Healthcare Education (Center) and Vemco MedEd. Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Physician Assistants
AAPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for the PRA from organizations accredited by ACCME.

Nurse Practitioners
Nurse Practitioners will receive certificate of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ as this is an ACCME accredited program and its accreditation is recognized by Nurse Practitioner boards.
For questions regarding accreditation, please contact info@jointsponsor.com.

 

For questions regarding the accreditation of this activity, please contact us at info@jointsponsor.com

 

Method of Participation and Instruction for Credit

  1. Review the entire CME information including target audience, learning objectives, and disclosures.
  2. Review the activity in its entirety.
  3. Complete the Online Post Test, Evaluation, and Credit Application form
  4. Please note that to receive credit you must achieve a score of at least 70%.
  5. Certificate of Credit will be emailed to you within 4 weeks.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

In accordance with policies set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Center for Independent Healthcare Education requires all faculty members and spouses/significant others with an opportunity to affect the content of a continuing education activity to disclose any relevant financial relationships during the past 12 months with commercial interests. A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, reselling or distributing health care goods or services consumed by or used on patients. Relationships with commercial interests and conflicts of interest resulting from those relationships must be revealed to the audience and resolved prior to the activity.

Relevant relationships include roles such as speaker, author, consultant, independent contractor (including research), employee, investor, advisory committee member, board member, review panelist, and investigator. If a potential speaker or author indicates a possible conflict of interest, the conflict will be resolved by choosing another speaker or author for that topical area, or the slides, handouts, and/or monograph will be reviewed and approved by a qualified commercially-disinterested peer.

 

 

Disclosures
William Ford, MD does not have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Dr. Ford does not discuss off-label uses of any products.


Jason Gallagher, PharmD has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
   Advisory Board: Accelerate Diagnostics, Achaogen, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc.,
   Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Shionogi Inc.
   Consultant: Achaogen, Inc. and Shionogi Inc.
   Research Support: Merck & Co., Inc.
   Speakers Bureau: Achaogen, Inc., Allergan, Melinta Therapeutics,
   Merck & Co., Inc.
Dr. Gallagher does not discuss off-label uses of any products.

Ciarán Kelly, MD has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
   Advisory Board: Artugen Therapeutics, Facile Therapeutics, Matrivax,
   Merck & Co., Inc.
   Consultant: First Light Biosciences, Vedanta
   Research Support: Merck & Co., Inc., NIH, Institut Merieux
Dr. Kelly discusses the following off-label uses: Agents in development (CDI vaccines, live bacterial products including FMT)

No (other) speakers, authors, planners or content reviewers have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Content review confirmed that the content was developed in a fair, balanced manner free from commercial bias. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone commercial bias in any presentation, but it is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation.

Fee
There is no fee to participate in this activity.

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Cable, DSL, or better of at least 300 kbps

System Check
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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2019 Vemco MedEd. All Rights Reserved. Permission for accreditation use granted to Center for Independent Healthcare Education.

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Joint Providership
This activity is jointly provided by Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd.

Commercial Support

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.
 

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