2235. Fecal Biomarkers for Clostridioides difficile Infection in Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of C. difficile infection (CDI) relies on using a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) followed by confirmatory toxin enzyme immunoassay (EIA). This study examined the utility of fecal biomarkers and C. difficile bacterial quantity (BQ) in differentiating patients with true infection (NAAT+/EIA+) from patients with colonization (NAAT+/EIA-) in the context of C. difficile ribotypes. METHODS: We studied 136 patients with diarrhea and CDI identified by NAAT in stools for which a confirmatory toxin A, B, EIA was performed. Fecal IL-8, IL-1β, calprotectin, and lactoferrin were studied by ELISA. C. difficile BQ was determined by 16S rRNA qPCR. Data were stratified according to cancer diagnosis into three groups [hematologic (H) n = 43, solid tumor (ST) n = 62, or stem cell transplant (SCT) n = 31]. RESULTS: Stools were EIA+ in 36/136 (26%) of the cohort. Although ST patients had a higher Charlson co-morbidity index when compared with the other two groups (P < 0.002), demographic characteristics and symptoms at the time of presentation were similar between groups regardless of EIA status. Most common ribotypes identified included F106 and F014-020. Ribotype distribution differed according to oncologic diagnosis as determined by the Shannon diversity index. There were fewer distinct C. difficile ribotypes in the SCT (n = 8) vs. ST (n = 15) and H (n = 15) groups (P < 0.001 and P < 0.002, respectively). BQ were higher in EIA+ than EIA- across all strata (log of BQ/mg 2.38 ± 1.49 vs. 0.92 ± 1.28, P > 0.001). Similarly, higher levels of fecal IL-8 (1.72 ± 1.9 vs. 0.83 ± 1.6 ng/mL), IL-1β (3.74 ± 13.7 vs.. 1.21 ± 4.6) and calprotectin (14.9 ± 27 vs. 6 ±1.8 ug/mL) levels were seen in EIA+ patients. While IL-8, IL-1β, and calprotectin were increased in EIA+ ST and H, no differences were seen in the SCT group. A sensitivity analysis using ROC curves, revealed that BQ resulted in a greater area under the curve than fecal markers of inflammation (A = 0.77, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.67–0.86]). CONCLUSION: In this study in cancer and immunocompromised patients, C. difficile bacterial burden regardless of infecting ribotype and fecal cytokines showed to be a helpful assay in distinguishing true CDI from colonization. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.