Use of tigecycline for the management of Clostridium difficile colitis in oncology patients and case series of breakthrough infections

Summary Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most frequent cause of nosocomial diarrhoea in adults. Cancer patients, in particular, are at a higher risk for CDI. Limited clinical data exist regarding the use of tigecycline for the treatment of CDI, especially in patients with oncologic and haematologic malignancies. Aim To characterize the use of tigecycline for treatment of CDI in oncology patients at an academic cancer centre. Methods This was a retrospective, single-centre, single-arm, chart review evaluating the use of tigecycline for the management of CDI in oncology patients at an academic cancer centre. Findings The median age of CDI diagnosis in this patient group ( N =66) was 65 years (range: 16–84) and the majority of patients had solid tumour malignancies. Fifty-six percent of patients had severe CDI, 70.3% of which were classified as having severe complicated disease. The median time to initiation of tigecycline therapy was 2 days (mean: 3.83) and the median number of tigecycline doses was 13 (range: 1–50). Twelve non-CDI breakthrough infections were observed, and four patients developed CDI while receiving tigecycline for non-CDI indications. The rate of death was 18% and the recurrence rate was 15.2%. Conclusion Tigecycline did not lead to overt benefits in outcomes of oncology patients with CDI when compared to historical data. In addition, several breakthrough CDIs were observed in patients who received the drug for a non-CDI indication. Further prospective research is needed to validate the use of tigecycline for management of CDI.