One of our region's NHS Trust's is taking part in a groundbreaking study into the use of anti-biotics.

Researchers from the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have been involved in the seven centre trial.

They have been testing the effectiveness of a new treatment of the C.Diff superbug, a serious bacterial infection caused by anti-biotics.

It comes after cases have been rising in hospitals, with traditional treatments, more anti-biotics, leaving the bug resistant.

Over 1,450 patient episodes were included in the analysis conducted in seven UK hospitals that introduced fidaxomicin, a narrow-spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of confirmed CDI in adults, between July 2012 and July 2013.

Data collected were compared with a retrospective cohort treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics - vancomycin or metronidazole - during the previous 12-month period.
 
Patterns of fidaxomicin use differed between the seven centres, with centres A and B treating with fidaxomicin as first-line treatment for all patients and the other five centres using fidaxomicin as first-line treatment only in selected patients for both primary and recurrent CDI.

The results of the trial suggest alternative treatments to fight the illness, and warns the medical community to be careful about prescribing antibiotics.

The trial is already proving to be a sucess, with the number of deaths dropping six-fold in one hospital and three-fold in another.

C.diff infection (CDI) recurrence rates also dropped seven-fold in one other hospital.

Study author Dr David Jenkins, Consultant Medical Microbiologist, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said:  

"This study builds on the growing evidence that adopting fidaxomicin as first-line treatment for all patients with CDI, rather than reserving it for more severe cases, provides more optimal outcomes in terms of recurrence, all-cause mortality and cost effectiveness compared to older treatments - vancomycin and metronidazole."