Molecular Epidemiology, Clinical Course, and Implementation of Specific Hygiene Measures in Hospitalised Patients with Clostridioides difficile Infection in Brandenburg, Germany

microorganisms Article Molecular Epidemiology, Clinical Course, and Implementation of Specific Hygiene Measures in Hospitalised Patients with Clostridioides difficile Infection in Brandenburg, Germany Esther E. Dirks 1,*, Jasminka A. Lukovi´ c 2, Heidrun Peltroche-Llacsahuanga 2, Anke Herrmann 1, Alexander Mellmann 3 and Mardjan Arvand 1 1 Unit for Hospital Hygiene, Infection Prevention and Control, Department of Infectious Diseases, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany 2 Institute for Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Carl-Thiem-Hospital, 03048 Cottbus, Germany 3 Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Muenster and National Reference Center for Clostridioides Difficile, Münster Branch, 48149 Münster, Germany * Correspondence: dirkse@rki.de Abstract: (1) Background: Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) have increased worldwide, and the disease is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAI). This study aimed to evaluate the molecular epidemiology of C. difficile, the clinical outcome, and the time of initiation of specific hygiene measures in patients with CDI in a large tertiary-care hospital in Brandenburg. (2) Methods: Faecal samples and data from hospitalised patients diagnosed with CDI were analysed from October 2016 to October 2017. The pathogens were isolated, identified as toxigenic C. difficile, and subsequently subtyped using PCR ribotyping and whole genome sequencing (WGS). Data regarding specific hygiene measures for handling...