Prevention and Management of Clostridium difficile Infections: Recognizing the Hospitalists' Role

Release Date: Friday, May 29, 2015 Expiration Date: Saturday, May 29, 2016

Educational Overview

Costridium difficile infection (CDI) places a significant clinical and economic burden on the healthcare system. The rising incidence of CDI is attributed to the emergence of a previously rare and hypervirulent strain of C. difficile. Increased toxin production and high-level antimicrobial resistance have allowed this strain to thrive in healthcare settings. Furthermore, populations previously thought to be at low risk of infection are now being identified as having severe CDI, including those without any exposure to healthcare facilities. Fortunately, new diagnostic techniques have been developed to assist clinicians in the accurate and rapid detection of these infections. Additionally, new treatment options are available to clinicians for the management of initial and recurrent episodes of CDI. The prevention and management of CDI involves multiple disciplines responsible for the care of at-risk patients. As a key patient advocate in the hospital, the hospitalist can play a major role in ensuring that appropriate measures are in place for their patients at high risk for CDI. Hospitalists can also ensure that timely and appropriate diagnostic tests are performed at the early signs of CDI and appropriate treatment selection is based on patient factors.

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:

Practice prevention strategies to reduce the incidence of CDI
Recognize patient risk factors that are predictive of serious complications or recurrence of CDI
Select appropriate treatment for initial and recurrent episodes of CDI based on disease severity and patient risk factors

Educational Format

These Online Presentations are based on the CME Satellite Symposium held in conjunction with Hospital Medicine 2015, SHM’s Annual Meeting.

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

Episode 1: Understanding C. difficile Infections:
Are We There Yet?
Erik R. Dubberke, MD, MSPH

Episode 2: Infection Control Measures to Prevent
C. difficile Infection: What Really Works?
Scott R.Curry, MD

Episode 3: Recognizing Patient Risk Factors for C. difficile Infection, Recurrence, and Complications
Ciarán P. Kelly, MD

Episode 4: A Patient-Centered Approach for Managing CDI:
Balancing the Old with the New
Erik R. Dubberke, MD, MSPH

Episode 5: Open Forum with Q and A

Faculty

	Erik R. Dubberke, MD, MSPH, FSHEA Associate Professor of Medicine Director, Section of Transplant Infectious Diseases Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO

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

	Scott R. Curry, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases Medical Director, Fecal Microbiota Transplant Program University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, PA

Accreditation
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 the Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd, LLC. Center for Independent Healthcare Education (Center) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Center for Independent Healthcare Education designates this Enduring material for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For questions regarding accreditation, please contact info@jointsponsor.com

Method of Participation and Instruction for Credit

Review the entire CME information including target audience, learning objectives, and disclosures.
Review each episode.
Complete the Online Post Test, Evaluation, and Credit Application.
Please note that to receive credit you must achieve a score of at least 70%.
Certificate of Credit will be emailed within 4 weeks of successful completion of the activity.

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.

DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST SUMMARY
Erik R. Dubberke, MD (Faculty/Planner) has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
            Advisory Board: Cubist Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi-Pasteur
            Consultant: Merck & Co., Pfizer, Inc., and Valneva
            Grant Recipient/Research Support: Merck & Co., Cubist Pharmaceuticals,
            Sanofi-Pasteur, and Microdermis
Dr. Dubberke intends to discuss the off-label use of following: probiotics, cholesterol binders, rifaximin, nitazoxanide, tigecycline, IVIG, surotomycin, LFF571, NTCD, mABs, C. difficile toxoid vaccine, and FMT.

Ciarán P. Kelly, MD (Faculty/Planner) has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
            Advisory Board: Claremont BioSolutions, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, MedImmune,
            Merck & Co., Sanofi-Pasteur, Seres Health, and Synthetic Biologics
            Grant Recipient/Research Support: Claremont BioSolutions, Merck & Co., and             Sanofi-Pasteur
            Speaker’s Bureau: Cubist Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Kelly intends to discuss the off-label use of following: metronidazole, rifaxamin
tigecycline, IVIG, and FMT.

Scott R. Curry, MD (Faculty/Planner) does not have relevant financial relationships with commercial interests.
Dr. Curry does not intend to discuss the off-label use of any products.

No (other) speakers, authors, planners or content reviewers have any relevant financial relationships to disclose. No (other) speakers or authors will discuss off-label use of a product.

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

Commercial Support

Supported by an educational grant from Cubist Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.

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