Brief primer on clostridium difficile infection costs, reimbursement, and government regulation

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is an important, costly, public health problem in the United States. Four economic studies have reported attributable costs of $3,000 to $12,000 per case. There is a great need for comparative-and cost-effectiveness studies of new CDI therapies. Such studies should include direct medical costs, indirect costs, lost opportunity costs, costs associated with disease recurrence, and quality of life assessments to help health care decision makers determine the value of these therapies.