Managing Recurrent Clostridioides Difficile Infection:

Recorded Monday, October 23, 2023
6:00 am – 7:30 am pdt
Vancouver Convention Centre, East Ballroom A

Faculty

Statement of Need/Program Overview

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is associated with a profound burden on patients. Several key risk factors for recurrent CDI (rCDI) have been identified (eg, antibiotic use, advanced age, prolonged hospital length of stay). The pathophysiologic processes in rCDI, including alterations in the gut microbiota, are complex, and selecting therapy for patients with rCDI is challenging. Novel microbiota-restoration therapies for rCDI treatment are recent additions to the market; clinicians require current information on the safety and efficacy of these agents and others that are in late-stage development.

Target Audience

The educational design of this activity addresses the needs of gastroenterologists, infectious disease specialists, and hospital/health-system pharmacists. Primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other clinicians involved in the management of rCDI will also benefit from participation and are encouraged to attend.

Educational Objectives

After completing the activity, clinicians should be able to:

1. Recognize the substantial health burdens associated with rCDI.
2. Describe the pathogenesis of rCDI, including the role of alterations in the intestinal microbiota.
3. Discuss the benefits and risks of antimicrobial treatment approaches for rCDI
4. Evaluate the most up-to-date clinical trial data for new and emerging microbiota-restoration therapies for rCDI treatment.

Physician Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Global Education Group (Global) and Applied Clinical Education (ACE). Global is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Credit Designation

Global designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacist Accreditation Statement

Global is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education with Commendation.

Credit Designation

Global designates this continuing education activity for 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEUs) of the ACPE. (Universal Activity Number - 0530-9999-23-170-H01-P)

This is a knowledge-based activity.

Global Contact Information

For information about the accreditation of this program, please contact Global at 303-395-1782 or cme@globaleducationgroup.com.

Instructions for Obtaining Credit

To receive credit, participants must participate in the activity and complete and pass the post-test with a minimum score of 70%. Additionally participants will need to complete the evaluation. CME certificates will be sent via email to those successfully completing the activity. For ACPE learners, credit will be uploaded within 30 days of completion to CPE Monitor.

System Requirements

PC

• 1.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or faster processor (or equivalent)
• Windows 10, 8.1 (32-bit/64-bit); Windows 7 (32-bit/64-bit) 512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 or later, Windows Edge browser, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome
• For HTML Client – Google Chrome (v70.0 and above), Mozilla Firefox (v65.0 and above), and Edge (v42.0 and above)

MAC

• 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster processor 512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)
• MAC OS X 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14
• Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome
• For HTML Client – Google Chrome (v70.0 and above), Apple Safari (v12.0 and above), and Mozilla Firefox (v65.0 and above)

Fee Information and Refund/Cancellation Policy

There is no fee for this educational activity.

Disclosures of Relevant Financial Relationships

Global adheres to the policies and guidelines, including the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE, set forth to providers by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and all other professional organizations, as applicable, stating those activities where continuing education credits are awarded must be balanced, independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous. All persons in a position to control the content of an accredited continuing education program provided by Global are required to disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible company within the past 24 months to Global. All financial relationships reported are identified as relevant and mitigated by Global in accordance with the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE in advance of delivery of the activity to learners. The content of this activity was vetted by Global to assure objectivity and that the activity is free of commercial bias.

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

The faculty have the following relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies:

The planners and managers have the following relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies:

• The planners and managers at Global Education Group have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• The planners and managers at ACE have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Global and ACE do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization associated with this activity. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of patient conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Event staff will be glad to assist you with any special needs (ie, physical, dietary, etc). Please contact Nicole Falco before the live event at (815) 861-9069 or by email at nicole@mymededco.com.

About the Faculty

Paul Feuerstadt, MD, FACG, AGAF

Paul Feuerstadt, MD, FACG, AGAF, is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and attending gastroenterologist at PACT-Gastroenterology Center of Connecticut in Hamden, CT. He is affiliated with the St. Raphael campus of Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Milford Hospital and is double board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology.

After receiving his medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Dr. Feuerstadt completed internship and residency programs in internal medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He then joined the Montefiore Medical Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he completed a fellowship in gastroenterology. In 2011, he started with the PACT-Gastroenterology Center, a Hartford Healthcare Medical Group partner.

Dr. Feuerstadt sees a broad spectrum of patients with gastrointestinal and hepatic disease. Throughout his training and practice, he has been actively involved in research and other academic pursuits. His areas of interest include chronic diarrheal syndromes, with a specific focus on Clostridioides difficile infection; irritable bowel syndrome; and ischemic diseases of the gut. He has presented his research extensively at national meetings and has authored and co-authored many manuscripts, textbook chapters, and online modules.

Another of Dr. Feuerstadt’s passions is teaching. He lectures locally, regionally, and nationally and founded Everythingcdifficile.com, an educational resource for patients and providers. At Yale, he mentors fellows in the Division of Digestive Disease.

Dr. Feuerstadt is a member of several professional organizations, such as the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Gastroenterological Association.

Anne Gonzales-Luna, PharmD, BCIDP

Anne Gonzales-Luna, PharmD, BCIDP, is a research assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Gonzales-Luna earned a PharmD with honors from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. She completed a postgraduate year 1 residency in pharmacy practice at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston and a postdoctoral fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. She also holds a Business Foundations Program Certificate with High Distinction from the University of Texas at Austin. She is board-certified in infectious diseases.

Dr. Gonzales-Luna’s research is focused on C. difficile infection, the gut microbiome, clinical pharmacy, and multidrug-resistant infections. She is active in education at the University of Houston as a preceptor for the antimicrobial stewardship and research rotations for fourth-year pharmacy students and the coordinator of the infectious disease pharmacotherapy fellowship program.

Outside the university, Dr. Gonzales-Luna is a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and Gulf Coast Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Robert Orenstein, DO

Robert Orenstein, DO, is a professor of medicine, chair of infectious diseases, associate chair for outpatient practice in the Department of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and director of the Arizona Emerging Therapeutics Consortium, both in Phoenix.

After graduate studies in biomedical engineering at the Worchester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Dr. Orenstein received his DO degree at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He then completed a rotating osteopathic internship at Botsford General Hospital (now Beaumont Health) in Michigan, a residency in internal medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania, and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Orenstein’s work has significantly reduced health care–associated infection rates at Mayo Clinic facilities. His team collaborates with gastroenterologists to study the risks for C. difficile infection transmission in the community and with the infectious disease team to design surveillance systems and interventions to reduce transmission in the hospital environment. Best practices developed by the group have been diffused across Mayo Clinic campuses and other health care institutions and health departments. The team also provides fecal microbiota transplantation for patients with chronic relapsing C. difficile disease.

In addition to his clinical and research responsibilities, Dr. Orenstein is director of the Arizona Emerging Therapeutics Consortium, which aims to improve equity in education around emerging infections, and the former editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

This activity is jointly provided by Global Education Group and Applied Clinical Education.

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
 

This activity is distributed by Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, Infectious Disease Special Edition, Pharmacy Practice News, and CMEZone.com.

This event is neither sponsored by nor endorsed by ACG.

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