...Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can infect the bowel and cause diarrhea. The risk factors of getting Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) includes patients that have been treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, more susceptible people and hospitalization (1). Patients in hospital have higher chances to get CDI because the spores of Clostridium difficile can be accidentally ingested which may be transported by infected patients to others. Besides that, taking antibiotic can lead to loss of commensal and normal bacteria thus promote the growth of Clostridium difficile (2). Symptoms of a people carry this bacterium in their intestines usually develops within 10 days after they started a course of broad spectrum of antibiotic (2). The common symptoms of a people getting CDI are people might suffered include water diarrhoea 10 to 15 times a day, painful tummy cramps, signs of dehydration, loss of appetite, blood or pus in the stool and nausea (2). These can cause associated problems to CDI. First, severe water diarrhea can result in dehydration due to the loss of fluid and eventually may cause kidney failure. Besides that, in rare condition, if the colon is unable to expel toxic gas, it may swell and is known as toxic megacolon (2). Furthermore, patients will have chances of...
Words: 395 - Pages: 2
...Metropolitan State University NURS-605-50 Spring 2012 Introduction Patient safety is a primary goal for all health care workers, especially Registered Nurses who are the primary care givers for many patients. To promote safety and well-being it is important to provide the best possible care to all patients without spreading hospital acquired infections to patients that were previously free from certain diseases. Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are a common occurrence within health care settings and can cause many complications, increasing length of stay, and could even cause death. The goal of this paper is to provide a policy to make changes to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The ICU has struggled with preventing and eliminating the spread of CDI from patient to patient. The unit has implemented many changes to increase hand hygiene, improve cleaning techniques of equipment, and increase staff knowledge and awareness without improvement of the CDI rates. By reviewing policies provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) there can be changes made to improve the CDI rates at Mercy Hospital. Policy changes can be implemented and staff can be educated on proper hygiene techniques and other policies that the AHRQ will provide. The ultimate goal is to eliminate hospital acquired CDI’s and with the policy changes this can be a possibility. Policy Implementation The main focus area for this patient safety...
Words: 1330 - Pages: 6
...Clostridium the most common food-borne diseases worldwide resulting from the contamination food. It is one of the most common causes of reported food-borne diseases in the United States. Although several Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) have been identified, SEA, a highly heat-stable SE, is the most common cause of SFD worldwide. Outbreak investigations have found that improper food handling practices in the retail industry account for the majority of SFD outbreaks. However, several studies have documented prevalence of S. aureus in many food products including raw retail meat indicating that consumers are at potential risk of S. aureus colonization and subsequent infection. Presence of pathogens in food products imposes potential hazard for consumers and causes grave economic loss and loss in human productivity via food-borne disease. Symptoms of SFD include nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps with or without diarrhea. Preventive measures include safe food handling and processing practice, maintaining cold chain, adequate cleaning and disinfection of equipment, prevention of cross-contamination in home and kitchen, and prevention of contamination from farm to fork. This paper provides a brief overview of SFD, contributing factors, risk that it imposes to the consumers, current research gaps, and preventive measures. Clostridium difficile was first described as part of the normal microbiota in stool samples from healthy infants in 1935 (59)...
Words: 3044 - Pages: 13
...“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...
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
...flu) pandemic. The estimated transmissibility of the current virus is also not far from the norm. Depending on the methodology used, the calculated basic reproduction number (R0; the number of secondary infections produced by a single infected individual) is 1.2-1.6. This number is similar to that seen with seasonal influenza, while comparable estimates of R0 for the 1918, 1957, and 1968 pandemics ranged from 1.4-2.0. The WHO, however, suggests that there may be a much higher secondary attack rate. ■ COMMENTARY 2. 3. 4. 5. Government Pandemic Influenza Site: http://www.PandemicFlu.gov/ U.S. Government Pandemic Influenza Site: http://www.PandemicFlu.gov/ World Health Organization http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html Human/Swine A/H1N1 Influenza Origins and Evolution (Wiki) http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/groups/influenza/ http://www.thelancet.com/H1N1-flu The recognition that the initial perception of a high mortality rate was apparently spurious has led to some relaxation of concern. This may, however, be premature. While we have completed the usual influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere, the season is just beginning in the southern latitudes. Furthermore, previous pandemics have come in waves, with the second or third wave sometimes being associated with more severe disease than the original portion of the epidemic. While this was not true of the 1968 pandemic, it was true in 1957-1959 and, especially, in 1918. In fact, concern has been raised about...
Words: 1494 - Pages: 6
...1. What organism caused this condition? The organism is Clostridium difficile, which is a type of Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria also an obligate spore-forming anaerobe that produces several virulence. - Explain what structure this organism produces that is important in the spread of this organism among patients. Clostridium difficile spores are extremely hardy, and can survive for long amounts of time in environments without of food. The spores are resistant to drying and heating. The ability of C. diff. to survive in this resistant form has quite a challenge for hospitals. Once spores find their way into your gut, can turn into the active form of the bacteria and cause infection. -Briefly describe the epidemiology of this pathogen infection....
Words: 1412 - Pages: 6
...Clostridium Difficile Ebony G Williams Hodges University MLS 2500 Professor Christine Sanders April 6, 2011 Abstract 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. Clostridium Difficile Clostridium difficile also known as C. diff is a specific kind of bacterial infection that causes mild very severe forms of diarrhea and colitis. It is a bacteria, not a virus. The infection is often called Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) or Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) to describe a number of related illness, such as diarrhea, colitis, and perforation of the colon (). C. diff produces a toxin that causes the diarrhea and colitis. C. diff is a spore forming bacteria. A spore is a hard shell that certain types of bacteria like C. diff can wear to protect themselves in harsh environments for long periods of time (). The spores can make C. diff more difficult to treat and easier to become more contagious to others...
Words: 1613 - Pages: 7
...Clostridium difficile, also known as "CDF/cdf", or "C. diff", is a species of Gram-positive bacteria of the genus Clostridium that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics. Clostridia are anaerobic, spore-forming rods. C. difficile is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis, a severe inflammation of the colon, often resulting from eradication of the normal gut flora by antibiotics. In a very small percentage of the adult population, C. difficile bacteria naturally reside in the gut. Other people accidentally ingest spores of the bacteria while they are patients in a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility. When the bacteria are in a colon in which the normal gut flora has been destroyed (usually after a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as clindamycin has been used), the gut becomes overrun with C. difficile. This overpopulation is harmful because the bacteria release toxins that can cause bloating and diarrhea, with abdominal pain, which may become severe. C. difficile infections are the most common cause of pseudomembranous colitis, and in rare cases this can progress to toxic megacolon, which can be life-threatening. Latent symptoms of C. difficile infection often mimic some flu-like symptoms and can mimic disease flare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease-associated colitis.[4] Mild cases of C. difficile...
Words: 2925 - Pages: 12
...Capstone Project Abstract Background Hand washing and hand hygiene are consider to be the number one, cheap essential measure of preventing and controlling spread of hospital acquired infections (HAIs). Hand washing and hygiene can significantly reduce the burden of disease, in particular in hospitalized patient Unfortunately compliance to hand hygiene recommended standard procedures by the health care workers (HCWs) has been unacceptably poor. In order to design education program, identification of several risk factors associated with poor hand hygiene (HH) compliance is of extreme importance. Objective: The purpose of this study is to implement a hand hygiene program for increase compliance with hand hygiene among health care worker in 97 beds hospital. The key target for compliance to HH is not only health-care workers but also policy-makers and organizational leaders and managers. Methods.: Compliance to hand hygiene will be evaluated through direct observation of HCWs ,to helps pinpoint areas of strength or weaknesses in HH behavior, so as to develop training program that will help HCWs to complaint with HH . Evaluation will be based on direct observation and survey audit, observing the HCWs during routine patient care to ensure that hands hygiene are performed before and after getting in contact with patient and patient environment. In addition, survey audit based on the HCWs perception, knowledge and attitude...
Words: 6478 - Pages: 26
...Xantham gum Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide, derived from the bacterial coat of Xanthomonas campestris, used as a food additive and rheologymodifier,[2] commonly used as a food thickening agent (in salad dressings, for example) and a stabilizer (in cosmetic products, for example, to prevent ingredients from separating). It is produced by the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestrisbacterium. After a fermentation period, the polysaccharide is precipitated from a growth medium with isopropyl alcohol, dried, and ground into a fine powder. Later, it is added to a liquid medium to form the gum.[3] It was discovered by an extensive research effort by Allene Rosalind Jeanes and her research team at the United States Department of Agriculture anthan gum derives its name from the strain of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris One of the most remarkable properties of xanthan gum is its ability to produce a large increase in the viscosity of a liquid by adding a very small quantity of gum, on the order of one percent. In most foods, it is used at 0.5%, and can be used in lower concentrations. The viscosity of xanthan gum solutions decreases with higher shear rates; this is called shear thinning or pseudoplasticity. This means that a product subjected to shear, whether from mixing, shaking or even chewing, will thin out, but once the shear forces are removed, the food will thicken back up. A practical use would be in salad...
Words: 11945 - Pages: 48
...Task 1 : introduce your business a. Briefly describe the type of business size and number of employees . Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital is a principal referral group A1B hospital with tertiary affiliations to the University of NSW, University of Sydney and University of Western Sydney providing a wide range of general medical and surgical services and sub-specialty services to a local Bankstown/Canterbury community. It is part of South Western Sydney Local Health District.it has 454 beds and over 1400 emloyes between doctors , nurses , radiolgiest , administration , and other services . b. Laws are put into place to protect everyone - the customer, the employee and the company. You are not expected to be a lawyer, but being aware of the relevant legislations will help your organisation run more smoothly and avoid complications in the future, such as getting tied up in lengthy legal battles for unfair staff dismissal etc. Some of the common legislations applicable to traders include the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. These regulations are put into place to protect the consumers' rights and ensure they receive good quality products or services at all times. Duty of care : The responsibility or the legal obligation of a person or organization to avoid acts or omissions (which can be reasonably foreseen) to be likely to cause harm to others. Accessible parking Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital has a number...
Words: 3774 - Pages: 16
