Jillian M. Cotter, MD, MSCS, assistant professor of pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, is a corresponding author of a quality report published February 14 by Pediatrics that describes a quality improvement project aimed at reducing hospital-onset C. difficile infections while also eliminating unnecessary tests. The project, conducted from 2018 to 2020, included developing a clinical care pathway for testing and treatment for C. difficile, a clinical decision support tool to restrict testing, and targeted prevention efforts. Dr. Cotter and her co-authors conclude that such strategies can be used to decrease C. difficile and improve overall test utilization.
Fourteen colleagues from our campus are co-authors, including Suhong Tong, MS (senior research instructor, Section of Endocrinology), Kathleen Dorris, MD (associate professor, Section of Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation) and Samuel Dominguez, MD, PhD (professor, Infectious Diseases) from the Department of Pediatrics.