Clostridium Difficile And Its Effects On The Body. . .

Clostridium difficile infection or CDI is a disease that is caused from a severe mishap of the microbiota in the gut by antibiotics. This causes the patient to have persistent diarrheal problems from mild symptoms to very extreme and severe symptoms. In the past twenty years, this infection has been on the rise in numbers of problems in public health and has even caused a number of deaths. Although this is not the only infection the transplant can help conquer, C.difficile a great example to portray since in the past ten years it has become a growing health problem.

Clostridium difficile is a gram positive, spore forming anaerobic bacillus, which may or may not carry the genes for toxin A-B production (Nipa, 2010). These two types of protein exotoxins produced by the Clostridium difficile bacillus, toxin A and toxin B, can have an infectious form and a non-active, non-infectious form (Grossman, 2010). The infectious form can survive for a short duration of time in the environment. The spores can survive for a longer period of time in the environment and are not infectious unless and until they are ingested or are transformed into an infectious state (Nipa, 2010).

Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a type of bacterium that can cause a person to endure diarrhea like symptoms to more drastic symptoms that may involve inflammation of the colon. Most people who come across C. diff are expected to be in a hospital setting for an extensive period of time. It is more accessible to acquire C. diff when a person is of old age, in a hospital setting, and taking antibiotic medication (Mayo Clinic, 2016). Normally, one would think that taking antibiotics would not cause any harm to the body, but would instead help the body fight off diseases. However, once a person who has been taking antibiotics for a long period of time stops taking them, such as in a nursing home or hospital setting, that person can develop some reactions in the absence of those antibiotics (Bartlett, 2012). This reaction, then allows the person to experience diarrhea symptoms, which lead to inflammation of the colon and more drastic colon problems.

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacillus that is renowned for being the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in adult patients. C. difficile is present as normal intestinal flora within 3% to 5% of healthy people2, while its spores are ubiquitous in the environment, especially in hospital settings. It grows at an optimal temperature and pH of 37ºC and 6.5–7.5 respectively.1 It is an obligate anaerobic as it thrives in the absence of oxygen. It is highly motile with the presence of peritrichous flagella, which are evenly spread out along its surface. As briefly mentioned above, this evolving pathogen produces endospores. The bacterium produces dormant spores, which are extremely hardy and resistant to antibiotics, the host’s innate immune system, and once shed into the environment through the host’s feces, they are resistant to unfavorable aerobic conditions3 as well as several types of bleach-free disinfectants, which are commonly used in hospitals.3 The spores will germinate under the favorable conditions of the intestinal tract, resulting in the multiplication of vegetative cells, colonizing in the gastrointestinal tract. The vegetative cells release two powerful exotoxins upon adherence to the epithelial cells of the GI tract. Pathogenic strains of C. difficile produce two exotoxins: toxin A and toxin B. Toxin A is an enterotoxin that causes fluid excretion, resulting in fluid accumulation and watery diarrhea. Toxin B is a potent

C-Diff is an anaerobic gram-positive spore forming bacterium, which affects and grows in the gastrointestinal tract after the normal intestinal flora, has been changed by antibiotic therapy or by contact through the fecal- oral route (Kelly & Lamont, 2014). The C-Diff organism, releases two different toxins, toxins A & B. Both toxins are cytotoxic for many different cells. Toxin B is more potent then A, both toxins cause increased vascular permeability by opening tight junctions between cells, which cause hemorrhage, these toxins also stimulate the

Many Americans die each year from complications connected to Clostridium difficile. It can ill a significant number of individuals as well as animals. The Clostridium difficile infection is the result of poor hygiene, misuse, overuse of antibiotics and an aging population. In this paper I will be discussing the following topics, what clostridium difficile means, what it causes, signs and symptoms, complications, treatment and the prevention.

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic bacillus. Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of nosocomial infections associated with antibiotic exposure and an increase in the severity of the disease. Challenges of disease containment include emerging risk factors and recurrence. In 2008 the acute care costs, not including the economic burden placed outside of the hospital, was estimated to be around $4.8 billion in the US. As such, it has become clear that preventative measures are needed to monitor and reduce the risk of infection and recurrence.

Clostridium difficile involves a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium, which is a normal element of the colon flora in people. The Clostridium difficile can cause antibiotic-associated diarrhea when the competing bacteria in the gut flora are all killed by antibiotic treatment. The Clostridium difficile infection is one of the serious healthcare-related infection and also a rising health care problem. In the early 1970s, the Clostridium difficile has been known to have the ability to cause pseudomembranous colitis. As stated, the infection is the most cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea (Aktories & Wilkins, 2000). Individuals that are colonized with clostridium difficile serve as the reservoir for infection and this is by contaminating the environment with spores of such bacteria. This will lead to the spread of the organism on the health care worker’s hands or even through the use of medical equipment. In this paper, we are going to focus on the effective prevention strategies for clostridium difficile. What are the effective prevention strategies for clostridium difficile?

The healthcare professional can expect to encounter various conditions within their scope of experience. Clostridium difficile represents one of the most common and challenging nosocomial infections that can cause life-threatening complications such as hypervolemia, sepsis, pain, and peritonitis (Grossman and Mager 155). The recognition, diagnosis, treatment and inhibition of transmission of this bacterium are imperative in order to limit infection and prevent death.

difficile lies within the 19.6 kb pathogenicity locus (PaLoc) and codes for two major virulence factors and three accessory proteins [9]. Genes tcdA and tcdB encode Toxin A and Toxin B, respectively, the two major virulence factors which are part of the clostridial glucosylating toxin family [10]. Both catalyze the inactivation of Rho-GTPases, which are essential for the regulation of eukaryotic cell cytoskeleton [9]. The inactivation of Rho-GTPases causes cell death via cytoskeletal disorganization [9]. The accessory gene functions are as follows; tcdE as a putative holin protein; tcdD as a positive regulator and tcdC as a negative regulator, both of which are controlling Toxin A and B gene expression

Doctors have found a way to treat and/or cure clostridium difficile by putting feces from a healthy person into a pill. Clostridium difficile, also known as C-diff, affects about 500,000 people per year, killing 14,000. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, and cramping that can often be crippling. There are antibiotics that can kill the germ, but they take down some of the good bacterias too. Fecal transplants can restore the healthy bacteria, but are given in expensive, painful procedures called colonoscopies. Enemas have also been attempted, but the treatment is not always effective.

Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that is found in the human colonic flora that can cause diarrhea and more serious conditions, such as colitis. This occurs if the physiological bacterial flora is changed or damaged due to prolonged antibiotic use and if the concentration of C. difficile increases significantly. The prolonged antibiotic use enables C. difficile to multiply and produce large amounts of dangerous toxins. Therapy for those who suffer from this includes rehydration, immediate stop of the causative antibiotic (usually clindamycin or amoxicillin), and new antibiotics to reverse the symptoms such as vancomycin. C. difficile is easily transmitted within hospital settings because its spores are resistant to the commonly used alcohol

Medical management involves the use of vancomycin, which is effective only when delivered through enteral feeding (Walters & Zuckerbraun, 2014). C. difficile resistance drugs have been observed and are of concern given the increased prevalence of infection over the years and the subsequent requirement for antibiotics now. Reduced susceptibility to vancomycin has been seen with C. difficile isolates, however, it is not widespread at this time (Jarrad et al., 2015). One of the more displeasing issues related to C. difficile infection is the recurrence of the disease. This may be due to the standard treatment with vancomycin, which destroys the C. difficile bacteria but does not restore the patient’s colonic microbiome and gut flora, and/or impaired

The anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria species Clostridium difficile is one of the most common cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea. This bacterium was originally identified as normal flora living on healthy infants in 1935. This bacterium can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea, dehydration, and life-threatening inflammation of the colon. Clostridium difficile most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or long-term care centers and most often occurs after the use of antibiotic medications (1). Since there are trillions of bacteria naturally found in human interactions, when taking an antibiotic this tends to kill off the normal flora allowing C. difficile to thrive. Spores from C. difficile are transmitted via the oral fecal

Most of the public have heard of broad-spectrum drugs, especially in terms of antibiotic resistance, because they fight a wide range of bacteria but also kills normal flora in the gut (Haddox, 2013). The loss of this gut flora can lead to an abnormal growth of harmful bacteria such as clostridium difficile (C-Diff). The four “C” antibiotics that have a high risk for patient to develop C-diff are clindamycin, cephalosporins, coamoxiclav, and ciprofloxacin (Haddox, 2013). These antibiotics have the highest risk of leading to C-diff development, however all antibiotics increase a patient’s likelihood of a C-diff infection. This effect can last up to 12 weeks post antibiotic administration (Haddox, 2013).