For patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), doxycycline is associated with a reduced risk for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Ashley L. O’Leary, PharmD, AAHIVP, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis in 156,107 patients diagnosed with CAP at US Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals across the United States to examine whether doxycycline was associated with reduced CDI risk. Compared with azithromycin, doxycycline used with ceftriaxone for pneumonia was associated with a 17% reduced risk for CDI. The incidence of CDI was reduced by 45% for patients with a prior history of CDI (OR, 0.55). “These results suggest that in cases where Legionella pneumonia can be ruled out prior to treatment, patients at increased risk [for] C. diff may benefit from the use of doxycycline as a first-line agent,” a coauthor said in a statement.
