Combatting C. difficile: CDI Awareness Month Highlights
COMBACTE-CDI (Clostridioides difficile Infections) joined the COMBACTE consortium 3 years ago following a call from the Innovative Medicine Initiatives (IMI). The primary goal was to develop a detailed understanding of the epidemiology and clinical impact of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) across Europe. The ultimate goal was to contribute to improved prevention and treatment options for such infections that are responsible for extensive morbidity, mortality and health care costs. During the C. difficile Awareness Month (November), COMBATE showcased the work that has been done by our academic and EFPIA partners within the consortium. We look back at the highlights.
“From a company perspective, joining COMBACTE-CDI as EFPIA partner allows us to join a network of excellence to evaluate advanced concepts, assess the value of new products and technologies and anticipate how to better address clinical needs. bioMérieux accepted to become Deputy Industrial Lead and join the management board. COMBACTE-CDI has been priming our company and in vitro diagnostics which is recognized in the IMI community.“
Hard work pays off
CDI remains a severe, even fatal, infection with a large burden on the healthcare system worldwide. According to Rossitza Vatcheva-Dobrevska (Advisory board member of COMBACTE-CDI), the project is a gigantic step in the development of medical science nowadays. Working on objectives together with our partners and vast solid network, the consortium achieved great results such as the development of the Dynamic Transmission Model. The model estimates the true incidence of colonized and infected cases in the hospital setting within different European countries by accounting for differences in national sampling and testing rates.
Another important achievement was the bio-informatic tool named BIOMERIEUX EPISEQ® CS, allowing detailed comparisons of genome sequences of multiple C. difficile strains.
LAB-Net, COMBACTE’s laboratory network, sent out the COMBACTE-CDI microbiology questionnaires to participating sites. The results of the questionnaire would improve the understanding of the framework around participant laboratories’ current practices that led to samples being tested and how the patients, who were CDI positive, will be managed.
“Our health-economic results of COMBACTE-CDI are an important message for clinicians and decision makers to be aware and prevent severe and recurrent CDI episodes. Especially in times of limited resources and budget restrictions, it is indispensable to identify a clinically and economically sound strategy in the treatment of CDI. I am really happy that the healthcare industry and academic investigators realized that fruitful project and I am looking forward on future successful collaborations.”
Dr. Sebastian Wingen-Heimann, Research Associate, University Hospital of Cologne
More Blogs on the Work in COMBACTE-CDI
Many of our academic and EFPIA partners were happy to provide their insights on the work being done in COMBACTE-CDI.
Project Management of CDI
Supporting research can happen in any capacity. Project management is an integral part of this. From the University Medical Center Utrecht, Ram Venkatachalam leads the Project Management Office of COMBACTE-CDI.
CDI: A Major Burden for Patients
Karuna Vendrik (Leiden University Medical Center), academic partner in COMBACTE-CDI, coordinated the sample and data collection for the Netherlands.
Getting Familiar with CDI
STAT-Net Project Coordinator Marlieke de Kraker got the oppurtunity to do research on CDI by participating in the new COMBACTE-NET MICROCARE study.
CDI Surveillance Systems
Stefanie Bunk and Nadine Conzelmann are the core of the COMBACTE-CDI research team at the University of Tuebingen, led by Evelina Tacconelli. They find the collaboration with the COMBACTE-CDI team extremely stimulating.
Looking forward to results
Results from COMBACTE-CDI have been presented at different conferences such as ECCMID and ICDS. An overview of the first results can be found in the COMBACTE-CDI infographic. Momentarily the consortium is preparing no less than 10 publications on results.
“With just a few months left before the end of the project, I’m really looking forward to the final results of COMBACTE-CDI which I am sure will contribute to reducing the burden of CDI across Europe.”
More CDI Insights on TWITTER & LINKEDIN
We've had even more exciting insights from our partners on our social media platforms! We sprinkled these during the C. difficile Awareness Month.
Related updates
Reflecting on COMBACTE-CDI
November is Clostridioides difficile Awareness Month
