Clostridium difficile-associated disease in New Jersey hospitals, 2000-2004.

Clostridium difficile, a gram-positive organism, is the most common cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea in the United States (1). In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on a new, epidemic, toxin gene–variant strain of C. difficile on the basis of a study of isolates collected from hospitals in multiple states, including New Jersey. CDC recommended that inpatient healthcare facilities track the incidence of C. difficile–associated disease (CDAD), including the clinical outcomes of patients (2).