“Clostridium difficile, commonly known as C. diff, is one of the nation’s leading health care acquired infections. C. diff infections occur when someone is exposed to the pathogen while receiving antibiotic treatment for some other illness. Antibiotics suppress the normal bacteria in the colon, allowing C. diff to flourish, producing toxins that cause severe diarrhea.”1 While, the thought of severe diarrhea may just sound unfortunate, the staggering number of people infected, and die from this infection is not only surprising but also frightening. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that almost half a million C. diff infections occurred in the United States in a year, with about 29,000 patients dying within …show more content…
diff is mostly acquired by patients who are taking antibiotics. The best way to prevent this infection is by closely monitoring antibiotic usage. 3 The other significant way to prevent the spread of C. diff is by using correct hand washing and safety precautions. Educating the public, patients and workers about CDI will also reduce the number of infections.4 When a patient comes into the hospital for diarrhea, the health team should look at medications the patient has taken, and see if they are using antibiotics, and if they are test them for C. diff.4Knowing what kills this bacteria , or how to get rid of it will aid in lowering the number of cases.4 “Appropriate hand hygiene practice for C. diff includes the use of soap and water. Avoid alcohol (hand sanitizers) , which does not kill the bacteria’s spores and instead moves them around on the hands. Soap and water won’t kill the spores either, but the mechanical action of hand washing helps remove them from the hands.”3 Patients who have diarrheal symptoms or a suspected CDI patient in the ER should be isolated.4 All health personnel need to wear gloves and gowns for safety precautions.4Any person who comes in contact with a suspected CDI patient needs to wear gloves and gowns.4 The other final method in preventing CDI is proper cleaning of equipment after all patients, but especially by patients with or suspected to have CDI.4The best disinfectants against C. diff are ones that contain chlorine or bleach, which help …show more content…
“This is because antibiotics lead to dysbiosis, characterized by decreased diversity of the colonic microbiota. In this setting, C difficile has the potential to thrive.6 For this reason, anyone who has been infected by C. diff has about a 20% chance of reinfection.4 Since approximately half a million people are infected with C. diff in a physical year, that means about 100,000 people still suffer after initial treatment. The question now is, how do we increase treatment efficiency for CDI? The answer to that question is by, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). “FMT is procedure in which fecal matter, or stool, is collected from a tested donor, mixed with a saline or other solution, strained, and placed in a patient, by colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or enema. The purpose of fecal transplant is to replace good bacteria that has been killed or suppressed.”7 While this may sound like new technology, this has actually been around for quite some time. “The first documented case of ingested fecal material for medicinal purposes dates back to fourth-century Chinese medicine, when highly regarded physician Ge Hong used that technique to treat severe diarrhea or food poisoning as well as malaria. It was again documented as “yellow soup” in 16th-century China by Li Shizhen for the treatment of gastrointestinal