Reviewed by Barry Rittmann, MD, MPH, Virginia Commonwealth University
In a retrospective cohort study published in CID, Redmond et al. evaluated the rates of reduced susceptibility to fidaxomicin in one acute care hospital. Despite its documented effectiveness as a first line agent against Clostridioides difficile, recent reports noted concerns for reduced susceptibility to fidaxomicin. In this cohort of 296, there was a 5.6% rate of reduced susceptibility among patients who received fidaxomicin, including several cases with initially susceptible isolates that were subsequently reduced after initial treatment. Although these numbers remain low, this study highlights the risk of developing resistance to fidaxomicin, a risk that could increase as fidaxomicin use becomes more commonplace.
Reference:
Sarah N Redmond, Jennifer L Cadnum, Annette L Jencson, Claire E Kaple, Brigid M Wilson, Andrew M Skinner, Amy S Gargis, Munok Hwang, Hosoon Choi, Piyali Chatterjee, Chetan Jinadatha, Curtis J Donskey, Emergence and Spread of Clostridioides difficile Isolates With Reduced Fidaxomicin Susceptibility in an Acute Care Hospital, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 80, Issue 5, 15 May 2025, Pages 984–991, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf028