Abstract: Objective To explore the impact of Clostridium difficile colonization on elderly hospitalized patients by analyzing the differences in laboratory indicators between Clostridium difficile colonized patients and non-colonized patients and detecting Clostridium difficile in fecal specimens of elderly hospitalized patients. Methods The fecal specimens of elderly inpatients over 60 years old from April to October 2019 in the hospital were collected for Clostridium difficile anaerobic culture, and the immunologic tests were carried out in 35 strains of positive cultures for glutamate dehydrogenase and toxins. The clinical data of patients were collected, and the influence of colonization of intestinal Clostridium difficile on hepatic biochemical indexes of the elderly was analyzed. Results 35 strains of Clostridium difficile were detected in 187 elderly hospitalized patients, the positive rate was 18.72%, and toxin-producing strains accounted for 82.86% (29/35).The colonization rate of Clostridium difficile in elderly hospitalized patients increases with age, and the proportion of abnormal hepatic biochemical indexes such as serum albumin, prealbumin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total bile acid in colonized patients was higher than that in non-colonized patients(P<0.05). Conclusion Elderly hospitalized patients are susceptible to Clostridium difficile colonization. Clostridium difficile colonization may affect the liver and kidney function of elderly patients and increase the risk of Clostridium difficile infection, which increase the burden of treatment. It is recommended to strengthen the surveillance and screening of Clostridium difficile colonization in elderly hospitalized patients with low immune function and underlying disease.

Key words: Clostridium difficile, Elderly, Grastrointestinal microbiome, Clinical Laboratory Techniques