Clostridium Difficile Case Study

Clostridium difficile is a particularly challenging and difficult infection to control. Because Clostridium difficile spores can live on dry surfaces for long periods of time, teaching must include the importance of cleaning surfaces and

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

Clostridium Difficile (C-Diff) is considered one of the most common infections a patient can acquire within their hospital stay. It is estimated that C-Diff is responsible for 337,000 infections and 14,000 deaths a year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Working in the emergency department (ED), I have witness first hand how debilitating this gastrointestinal infection can be. Patients are admitted to the ED for having severe watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. Elderly patients are at increase risk for sepsis and dehydration related to recurrent infections. Appropriate management and education of C-Diff is optimal for patient survival and decrease contamination across lifespan.

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.

Ample literature has been published to elucidate the pervasive nature of Clostridium difficile and its relationship with inadequate health-care practices. Clostridium difficile-associated disease: New challenges from an established pathogen by Sunshine and McDonald, published in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine discusses the concern over Clostridium difficile. It includes a case report involving infection caused by the bacterium and important guidelines for prevention and treatment associated with the bacterium.

Clostridium difficile, a nosocomial pathogen, is of critical importance. By 2010 it was the most prevalent healthcare-related pathogen globally [1], accounting for 20-30% of antibiotic-associated diarrheal cases in healthcare settings [2]. Symptoms of C. difficile infection (CDI) are significant and include severe diarrhea and dehydration. In more serious cases, CDI can result in pseudomembranous colitis, bowel perforation, sepsis and even death [3, 4].Beyond serious impact upon patients, CDI is costing multiple billions of dollars in hospital care in the United States alone [5]. Clearly the need exists to identify and characterize the infection and toxicity pathways of C. difficile.

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive bacterium which causes diarrhoea. It also known as antibiotic associated diarrhoea and also pseudomembranous colitis. The bacterium secretes large protein toxin that also causes toxic mega colon. Clostridium difficile is caused by when a person is given one of the following antibiotics: Cephalosporin, penicillin (particularly Ampicillin or Amoxicillin), Clindamycin and Fluoroquinolone. The antibiotic will remove the entire normal flora in the colon. The lack of normal flora will make the person vulnerable to infection especially to Clostridium difficile because Clostridium difficile produces hardy spores

CDI cannot be treated with many antibiotics, and as early as 2000 another strain appeared that was resistant to even more antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones (“Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance.”). This new strain creates more toxins and can show up in people not normally considered at risk for CDI infection, like those who have not been hospitalized or treated with antibiotics (“C. difficile infection.”). This aggressive strain only adds more danger to an already resistant bacteria. As antibiotics became more common, they were prescribed for thousands of common illnesses. Over time, Clostridium difficile has built up a resistance to antibiotics to become a major concern. Even more frightening, it has started to appear in the community. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control rate it as an urgent threat. Superbugs like CDI are becoming a more ever-present threat and we must continually work towards newer and more effective treatments to counteract the bacterias frightening ability to resist us (“Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance.”). CDI is just one of many superbugs, however, and others pose just as great a

Each year in the United States, many people require hospitalization due to various medical reasons. Often times, patients must undergo a course of antibiotics to treat the medical condition that warranted the hospitalization. The combination of the necessity to be admitted to a health care facility along with the administration of an antibiotic may result in a Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a CDI, including an overview of the microbiology of Clostridium Difficile (C- diff), as well as the epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, treatment and prevention of the infection.

Clostridium difficile is a highly contagious infection of the colon that's hard to contain and occurs in many health care facilities. With the proper interventions, it can be prevented and contained. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an article about C. diff and give suggestions on how to avoid an outbreak at a health care facility.

Throughout history, there has been many epidemics in Quebec which drastically decreased the population and changed the economic, political and social side of life. Since 2002 an epidemic of Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD), called NAP1/BI/027, has rapidly spread to a mass majority of hospitals in Quebec. This outbreak in Quebec has sent panic and alarm bells ringing too

Clostridium Difficile is now considered to be one the most important causes of health care-associated infections. C. diff infections are also emerging in the community and in animals used for food, and are no longer viewed simply as unpleasant complications that follow antibiotic therapy. Since 2001, the prevalence and severity of C. diff infection has increased significantly, which has led to research on C. diff. This research summarizes C. diff background, causes, symptoms, infection occurs, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. This will give the reader some type of aspect about C.diff.