Preview

Clostridium Difficile

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1480 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Clostridium Difficile
Clostridium difficile
Babe Ruth
06/23/2011
Microbiology

Clostridium difficile

I. What is Clostridium difficile and why is it relevant to us? A.“Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a bacterium that may develop due to the prolonged use of antibiotics during healthcare treatments.” 1 B. “Clostridium difficile is an obligate anaerobe or microaerophilic, gram-positive, spore- forming, rod-shaped bacillus.” 2
II. What are the signs and symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)? A. C. difficile can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon (pseudomembranous colitis). 3 1. Mild to moderate C. difficile infections may cause watery diarrhea 3 or more times per day for more
…show more content…
“Frequently Asked Questions about Clostridium difficile for Healthcare Providers.” Healthcare-associated Infections. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 25 Nov. 2010. Web. 19 June 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/organisms/cdiff/Cdiff_faqs_HCP.html>.
2. Lewis, Sharon L., et al. Medical-Surgical Nursing: Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems. 8th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier, 2011. Print.
3. The Mayo Clinic Staff. “C. difficile.” MayoClinic.com. Mayo Clinic for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). 03 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 June, 2011. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/c-difficile/DS00736>.
4. “Clostridium difficile infection.” FamilyDoctor.org. American Academy of Family Physicians. Feb. 2011. Web. 21 June 2011. <http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/bacterial/939.printerview.html>.
5. Vorrick, Linda J., MD. “Pseudomembranous Colitis.” Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Apr. 2010. Web. 22 June 2011. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000259.htm>.
6. Van Leeuwen, Anne M., and Debra J. Poelhuis-Leth. Davis’s Comprehensive Handbook of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests with Nursing Implications. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company, 2009.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    HCC145 quiz2

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Which bacterial infection is caused by an unusual strain of E. coli, the common bacterium in the large intestine?…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lockjaw Case Studies

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    26. Wells, C. L., Wilkins, T. D. (1996). "Clostridia: Sporeforming Anaerobic Bacilli". In Baron, S.; et al. Baron's Medical Microbiology. Univ of Texas Medical Branch. ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    References: McCarthy, A.L., Stevens, S.K., & Weber, R.A. Bacillus Cereus Fact Sheet (2013) Food Safety Counsel. Retrieved from http://www.foodsafetycounsel.com/food-safety-law/common-food-borne-pathogens/bacillus-cereus/…

    • 2885 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kin 302 Test 2

    • 2096 Words
    • 9 Pages

    2012-FA-E1-KIN302-BE_KIN502-BG Contemporary Health Issues 2012-FA-E1-KIN302-BE_KIN502-BG Learning Activities Week 8 -- Infectious Diseases and Common Ailments Take Test: Test #2…

    • 2096 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Frost, K.J. (2007) An overview of antibiotic therapy. Nursing Standard. 22 (9) pp51-57 (online) available at…

    • 2936 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nut Task 2

    • 2443 Words
    • 10 Pages

    " High infection rates can be scrutinized for a common link, or increases in adverse events can be analyzed to improve patient safety and provide better care. Information is easily sorted and compiled to provide various reports that are user-specific.…

    • 2443 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    C Diff Research Paper

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Recently C. Diff has become more severe and difficult to treat. Healthy people can get C.Diff even if they aren’t taking antibiotic or hospitalized.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    NUR 500 Lit Review

    • 2295 Words
    • 8 Pages

    This literature review explores numerous published articles that discuss the importance of recognizing that excessive antibiotic use has become a universal threat to our healthcare environments. This issue has turned into a global health phenomenon associated with increased occurrence of various antibiotic resistant bacteria, causing a serious danger to the human race. The expansive transmission of antibiotic resistant bacteria, in both the hospital and the community, has increased morbidity and overall healthcare costs (van Buul, 2012). The aim of this paper is to provide an educational synopsis of the literature available on antibiotic usage, as it relates to antibiotic resistance, and strategies to combat overuse within multiple healthcare environments.…

    • 2295 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Clostridium Defficil

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Clostridium difficile is a gram positive, spore forming anaerobic bacillus, which may or may not carry the genes for toxin A-B production. These two types of protein exotoxins produced by the Clostridium difficile bacillus, toxin A and toxin B, can have an infectious form and a non-active, non-infectious form. The disease spreads throughThe spores can survive for a longer period of time in the environment and are not infectious unless and until they are ingested or are transformed into an infectious state. The infectious form can survive for a short duration of time in the environment. Together, the two toxins cause a large number of inflammatory pacifiers to descend on the colon, triggering more colitis and colonic ulcerations. Purulent debris then results, contributing to the development of a pseudo membrane. With the activation of the inflammatory response, the released pacifiers cause fluid excretion and increased permeability at the mucosal membrane and make the patient susceptible to diarrhea as well as drastic electrolyte and fluid shifts.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    C-Diff Infection

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page

    Every year, half a million Americans get C-diff infection. 14,000 of those die each year. The germ causes nausea, cramping, and diarrhea. Antibiotics that kill C-diff are very pricey, and can destroy good bacteria that live in the gut. This could make future infections more likely. Recent studies have shown that fecal transplants, where stool from healthy people are given to infected people. Scientist have found a way to take stool bugs out of poop and have been putting them in pills. It takes around 24-34 capsules to hold enough bacteria for a treatment in one sitting. 27 patients that had at least 4 C-diff infections were given these pills. They didn’t get sick again after taking the pills. Other researchers are trying to find which bacteria…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    C Diff Research Paper

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The response rates to both drugs have been 95% or better. The effectiveness of oral metronidazole and oral vancomycin for the treatment of CDI is well supported in the literature, although only vancomycin has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for this purpose. Several case reports have noted the use of IV immunoglobulin (IVIG) to induce passive immunity and achieve cure in patients with severe persistent colitis or recurrent disease. Oral metronidazole monotherapy is not an appropriate initial treatment for patients at highest risk, in particular, those who present with significant predictors of disease severity or are of advanced age and have worrisome comorbidities. There are numerous independent risk factors reported for developing symptomatic disease after acquisition of C. difficile. The risk factors that are most consistently identified in the literature include antibiotic exposure, age > 60 years, longer duration of hospital stay, severe underlying disease, and gastric acid…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The presence of central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in intensive care units is an ongoing problem in many hospitals in the country and around the world. Master’s degree prepared nurse Antoinette C. Lopez states that approximately 15 million patients experience central line infections each year in intensive care units (Lopez, 2011). It not only affects the patient, but also the healthcare team caring for the patient and the hospital. According to nurses Jessica M. Dixon and Robin L. Carver (2010), CLABSIs can affect the morbidity and mortality of the patient, number of days that they stay in the hospital, and the “cost of care” (p. 817). Nurses play an important role in the prevention and treatment of CLABSIs. Research has…

    • 1942 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Enteric clostridial infection in dogs are life-threatening condition usually caused by Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile. The pathogenesis of enteric clostridial infection requires two factors; the presence of these microorganisms in the intestine and a change in the enteric microenvironment.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After a bunch of tests last week, I was diagnosis with colitis, which is swelling (inflammation) of the large intestine. The symptoms are belly pain, cramps, fatigue, diarrhea, bleeding and other yuckiness. Sounds just peachy, doesn't it? I have no clue how it started or whether it is something that I have to live with for the rest of my life. All I know is that I feel terrible.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Clostridium Perfingens

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On November 19th, 1995 in Sacramento, California there was an outbreak of Clostridium Perfringens at a juvenile detention facility after eating their holiday thanksgiving meal on November 18th. They believe it to be the mishandling of food served at that holiday meal. Out of 250 residents and staff around 100 reported symptoms during the next eight hours. The residents and staff that did not get sick were at a special event that was held that day, and they ate a barbeque lunch instead. They gave a questionnaire to a random group of residents and staff members detailing their symptoms and food items eaten. In the results, 65% of the people who filled out the questionnaire reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. 100%…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics