Commonly prescribed drugs as risk factors for Clostridioides difficile infections: a Swedish population-based case-control study.

Lincosamides, penicillins, sulfonamides, and cephalosporins are linked to significantly increased CDI risk, with lincosamides showing the highest adjusted OR of 31.4 in the Swedish population.

• Why it matters: Understanding drug-related risks for CDI beyond antibiotics is crucial for improving prescribing practices and reducing infection rates, especially given the high prevalence of non-antibiotic drug use.
• What they did: A Swedish population-based case-control study analyzed 42,921 CDI cases and 355,159 controls from 2006 to 2019, assessing drug use within 30 days of CDI onset using multivariable logistic regression with adjustments for confounders.
• The result: Antibiotics like lincosamides and penicillins are strongly associated with CDI, while non-antibiotic drugs such as PPIs and corticosteroids also increase risk; conversely, lipid-modifiers and aspirin are linked to decreased CDI risk, informing targeted stewardship efforts.