First COMBACTE Project Nearing Completion: COMBACTE-CDI
COMBACTE-CDI, focusing on Clostridioides difficile Infections (CDI), is nearing completion after almost three years. The 4th COMBACTE project that started in 2017, will come to an end April 2021. The consortium is currently in the process of data analysis and publication planning of final results.
Invigorating Collaboration
A consortium of academic and pharma experts, previously partnered in large international CDI projects, such as EUCLID, LUCID, ORCHID and ECDIS-NET, joined forces.
The objectives of COMBACTE-CDI were divided across four work packages:
- Conducting an epidemiology study to quantify the burden of CDI across the whole health (WP1).
- Conducting a case/control study to assess the current practices in Europe and their potential impacts (WP2).
- Creating a European research platform that can provide support for future proof-of-concept and clinical studies of new prevention and treatment strategies for CDI (WP3).
- A supporting management work package (WP4).
As the COMBACTE-CDI study comes to a close, we are looking forward to disseminating the results in peer-reviewed scientific journals, with a number of manuscripts currently in preparation for both work package one (community and in-patient CDI, strain distribution, transmission) and work package two (management guidelines, treatment pathways and surveillance, and health economics.) We have developed strong collaborations with project partners throughout COMBACTE-CDI and look forward to maintaining and expanding these relationships going forwards, within a sustainable network to support future CDI research.
Sharing Knowledge
COMBACTE-CDI executed research on the burden of CDI and the best practices in Europe. During ECCMID 2019, one of the CDI posters was selected top-rated poster of the conference: ‘Detection of Clostridium difficile infection across whole healthcare economies in Europe: results from COMBACTE-CDI’.
In 2020, even more results from COMBACTE-CDI were translated into nine abstracts accepted at ECCMID and published in the ECCMID Abstract Book. That same year the consortium launched its infographic, showcasing the preliminary results of the epidemiology and case/control-study, as well as a pre-print manuscript in bioRxiv.
Publishing Results
The consortium is currently preparing nine manuscripts which will be published in peer reviewed journals. Of these manuscripts, six will include results from Work Package 1: Epidemiology and three from Work Package 2: Current Practices.
The future for COMBACTE-CDI
COMBACTE-CDI’s goal is to establish a European research platform network to provide expert support for future proof-of-concept and clinical studies of new prevention and CDI treatment strategies. This network will ensure the continuity of COMBACTE-CDI.
A stakeholder analysis was performed and a model of governance of a pan-European network to study CDI was proposed to investigate how this could be achieved. Currently the team is investigating options to transition into ECRAID.
Related updates
Reflecting on COMBACTE-CDI
November is Clostridioides difficile Awareness Month
