Clostridium Difficile Research Paper

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 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 (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

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.

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.

While most people on antibiotics are at the greatest risk of developing Clostridium difficile, there are specific groups of people who also have a chance of being infected. This includes the older population, people who 's immune system is compromised such as cancer patients, people who have a feeding tube, and people who have come in contact with infected patients (Fordtran, 2006, pp. 3). Most cases of Clostridium difficile can be found in a healthcare setting. This includes nursing homes where the older population resides, hospitals where immune compromised patients are receiving treatment as well as patients on antibiotic therapy. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2017). The bacteria is found in the stool. It is then passed from one person to another through contaminated surfaces. If a person touches a contaminated surface, then their contaminated hand touches their mouth or any other mucus membrane, they are at risk of developing the infection. Clostridium difficile can survive for long periods of time on these contaminated surfaces which is why healthcare settings have the highest record because germs spread quickly (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2017). When in contact with

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?

Contact precautions include: the patients being placed in private rooms, performing proper hand hygiene with antimicrobial soap and water, using friction for 15 seconds, and using gloves and gowns during patient care (Keske and Letizia 332). “One should also ensure adequate cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces and reusable devices. The uses of both buffered and buffered phosphate hypochlite solutions (bleach) have been shown to decrease the rate of C. difficile contamination and helps in reducing Clostridium Difficile associated disease (CDAD) rates” (Patel 104).

Checking in to the hospital comes with a heavy price tag, and sometimes you get more than what you bargained for. As highly trained doctors, nurses, and staff make their way through the hospital, they carry with them microbial agents of disease. Although regarded as centers for treatment and prevention, hospitals are also known to harbor nosocomial, healthcare-associated, bacterial infections. These infections can be a result of overused or inappropriately used antibiotics and the breaching of infection containment policies by patients and staff. Though health-care-associated infections have been decreasing, one infection inciting nosocomial bacterial, Clostridium difficile has been rampant. It is important that inefficiencies in health-care be met with stringent efforts for prevention as they may lead to distressing financial, emotional, and medical repercussions.

C. difficile is a spore-forming and strict anaerobe gram-positive bacillus [4], capable of excreting pathogenic toxins, as discussed below [3]. This spore forming ability is a method of bacterial persistence within the human body. C. difficile is able to resist and survive a variable environment when various other microbes cannot. Three important factors affecting the risk of CDI include the use of antibiotics, length of hospital-environment exposure and age [1]. The use of broad range antibiotics affects the composition and lively-hood of normal

Clostridium difficile is a spore forming, anaerobic, toxin-producing, gram-positive bacillus that is the most common cause of nosocomial, antibiotic-associated diarrhea (15-25%).1,2,3 The pathogenesis of C. difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) is the result of broad spectrum antibiotics, such as clindamycin, flouroquinolones or ceftriaxone, which reduces the population of normal bowel flora and allowing for an overgrowth of C. difficile.1,2 The toxins synthesized by C. difficile, A and B, lead to the inflammation and damage of the intestinal mucosa creating the symptoms of C. difficile infection (CDI). These symptoms can range from asymptomatic carriers, to mild diarrhea to sudden and occasionally deadly colitis. The clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of CDAD recommends the use of metronidazole (MET) and vancomycin (VAN) that is dependent upon the severity of the CDI.1,2,3

Many different diseases are caused by different species in the Clostridium genus, including tetanus, botulism, and gangrene ("Clostridium."). But perhaps the worst, but least publicly recognized, is Clostridium difficile, or CDI. This disease affects 500,000 people every year in the US alone, and of those infected, around 6% died within the first month of being infected (“Healthcare-Associated Infections.”). CDI is a gastrointestinal infection. It is found in soil, water, processed meat, and human and animal feces, but once the bacteria has reached a surface, it can linger there for months. If people touch a surface with CDI with their hands, they can then accidentally ingest it, leading to a potential CDI infection. Certain people are at much

In the article, Poop Pills Sound Gross, but Cure Serious Gut Infections, by Associated Press, doctors have found a way to put healthy people's poop into pills-and these pills are now being used to cure serious gut infections. In the article it states that, “Half a million Americans get Clostridium difficile, or C-diff, infections and about 14,000 die.” This was when poop pills were not invented yet and they had treatments that were very uncomfortable and very pricy. They did get rid off the bad bacteria in that area, but it destroyed the healthy, good bacteria and could cause reinfections of C-diff. C-diff is an infection in our bodies that gives us issues when we go to the bathroom. The, one time treatment created by Dr. Thomas Louie

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).