Clostridium Difficile Colitis Case Study

Clostridium difficile associated disease will resolve when the patient discontinues taking the antibiotics to which he/she has been previously exposed (Nipa, 2010). Administration of a different antibiotic is used to treat the infection (Grossman, 2010). The infection can usually be treated with an appropriate course of about 10 days of antibiotics including metronidazole or vancomycin administered orally (Nipa, 2010). On occasion intravenous vancomycin may be necessary (Gould, 2010). The nurse should ensure patients are not only taking the newly prescribed antibiotic, but also responding to the treatment by showing a decrease in symptoms. Symptoms can recur despite antibiotic therapy, close monitoring is essential. In order to avoid risk of further complications, nursing interventions would include careful assessment of white blood cell count, temperature, and hydration status; meticulous skin care and assistance with bowel elimination given the loose frequent stools; and management of abdominal discomfort (Grossman, 2010).

The majority of nurses are still auscultating air insufflation over the abdomen to check the placement of nasogastric tubes, since it was the method that was taught for many years. It is an easy and less expensive way to check the placement, but research has shown that it is not reliable. Research showed that sounds can be transmitted to the epigastrium no matter where the nasogastric tube is placed. It does not matter if it is in the lungs, esophagus, or stomach, it can still be heard through the stethoscope (De Boer, J., Smit, B., Mainous, R., 2009).

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.

This study focuses on methods to confirm proper tube placement. Through a cross sectional study, the research concluded that over seventy eight percent of critical care health workers use multiple methods to confirm tube placement. Some of the more common methods include looking at the gastric aspirate’s pH, observing the patient for signs or respiratory distress, and capnography. Auscultation of the air bolus was not included in the study because it was deemed “unreliable”. However, a small separate study was done and about eighty eight percent of critical care health workers claimed they also used an air bolus auscultation as a method of confirming placement. So, what is the reasoning for health care workers to continue doing this if it is unreliable? It has been hypothesized that this method requires the least amount of supplies and the nurses can do it quickly and easily. This research study along with many others concludes that air bolus auscultation is not an accurate method because the sounds nurses are used to hearing that “confirm” proper tube placement in the gastrointestinal tract are the same as sounds heard in the lungs and other areas of the

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 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

Clostridium difficile infection is a suprainfection cause by prolong use of antibiotics. Board spectrum antibiotic such as Penicillins, clindamycin, and cephalosporins are the antimicrobial drugs most commonly associated with C difficile colitis. According to Owens, in his research, C. difficile is primarily acquired in hospitals. Spread by spores, it can colonize a patient’s gut after helpful gut bacteria are killed by antibiotics. Its toxins can cause severe diarrhea and colitis, and it can be fatal (Owens 2013). On the other hand Kim in his research agreed clostridium difficile infection has been considered a hospital-acquired infection. However, a recent population-based study found 41% of CDIs were actually community acquired. It is becoming apparent that community acquired CDI affects populations previously thought to be at low risk; younger patients and patients who had no exposure to antibiotics in the 12 weeks before the infection. Thus, it is necessary to advocate and teach patient about

Clostridium difficile or otherwise known as C.diff. is a life threating infection that can cause a wide range of symptoms. Patients can experience anything from diarrhea to inflammation of the colon that can lead to death. In the past few years, Clostridium difficile infection rates have increased here in the United States causing great concern about the effectiveness of current treatments. For the past fifty years, the medical community has been investigating other areas for better treatment options.

I really enjoyed reading your response to DQ and how well you discribe Crohn and ulcerative colititis. I also wrote similar discription but I includded the part about family history of having ulcerative colititis and especially from a Jewish descent. Both of these diseases similar symptoms so mecidcal evaluation would have to be done to get the right diagnoses. Crohn disease is also associated with smoking and it is silently increase in women than

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic bacillus bacteria. Clostridium difficile infection is considered one of the healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the leading cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea (antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis). C. difficile exists in soil, food and colonizes the gastrointestinal tract of several animals and human beings.1 It is estimated that about 5–15% of adults, up to 84.4% of newborns and infants, and nearly 57% of long-term care facilities’ residents are carriers of C. difficile. 2

Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is now primarily a colon threatening condition with intensive medical management reducing the mortality to 1-2 % in specialist centres.1 The colectomy rate has remained high at 20-40 % over the last 30 years despite significant advances in medical therapy.2 ASUC occurs in 19 % of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) during their disease course but accounts for 75 % of hospitalizations. 3 In these patients 55 % are on treatment with oral corticosteroids or an immunomodulator at the time of admission. 3 Oral corticosteroid although effective for induction of remission in mild-moderate UC is poor at maintaining that remission and comes with significant side effects in both the short and long term.4 Although these medications are widely used in inflammatory bowel disease little data is available on the effect of treatment prior to hospitalization on colectomy rate and this was the primary focus of this study.

Fecal transplants have been around for many years; however up until recently it had not been widely used or accepted as a feasible course of treatment for gastrointestinal complications. Since approval by the U.S Food and Drug administration in 2013, the method is being thoroughly researched and tested to entice its use for Clostridium difficile infections. Clostridium difficile is extremely prevalent in the community and more over in healthcare facilities. The current treatments that are being used are quiet successful at treating Clostridium difficile, but the incidence of reoccurrence is fairly high. Fecal microbiota transplants have shown to have a very high success rate, and a very low reoccurrence rate. There are several ways of performing the treatment as well as different options for finding donors of the feces, all of which have similar and unwavering success rates. Fecal microbiota

The patient is a 68-year-old Caucasian female who presents with a swelling of her left lower extremity with acute pain. The patient's history is significant for end-stage kidney disease on peritoneal dialysis, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and neurogenic bladder. She was recently in the hospital for C. difficile colitis. This is a recurrent DVTs. The first episode was 4 years ago. She was on Coumadin for 6 months at the time. The left leg is described as being warm to touch, 1+ edema and tender. The ultrasound describes a chronic occlusive thrombus of the popliteal vein with developed collateral circulation but the physical findings would suggest there is some acuity going and the patient will be placed on anticoagulation and