5 Facts You Didn't Know About C diff
C diff is a nasty bug. It's hard to kill. It's a major problem in healthcare facilities.
It's a gram negative rod. It is anaerobic, and endosporic. When stressed it forms dormant spores. And the smell will knock you dead.
- C diff kills 14,000 people a year.
- C diff forms a heat resistant dormant spore when stressed. It can survive in this state for up to 5 months until it finds its way into a person's digestive system.
- It infects 13% of patients in the hospital for two weeks. It infects 50% of patients in the hospital for greater than 4 weeks.
- Fecal bacteriotherapy (stool transplant) may be used to treat C diff. A healthy person donates their fecal matter that is then placed in the patient's gut. The idea being the healthy person's gut bacteria will replace the C diff in the patient's gut. This can be delivered either by enema, colonoscope, or NG tube.
- 33% of rooms occupied by non C diff patients cultured positive for C diff.
So remember folks: Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.
The first step in prevention starts with you.
What smells worse: C diff or a GI bleed? Or do you have a better smell? Leave me a comment below!
Xoxo,
Nightingale
Thank You for this.
ReplyDeleteThank You for this.
ReplyDeleteGreat heads up. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading :)
DeleteBoth pretty rank but I think gangrene is the worst
DeleteBacterial vaginosis was pretty bad. Had to pin peppermint soaked gauze to my scrubs that day.
ReplyDeleteI have a better one - a tampon left in for a month. Took several days for the smell to leave my exam room!
ReplyDeleteWow,thanks. But another person's stool in NG tube? I work in a nursing facility and it's the worst smell ever.
ReplyDeleteI've never personally administered it. There are pill forms of donor fecal contents that can be given-- but I did have a friend at a different hospital administer it through NG.
DeleteRectal abscess... aka infected poop.
ReplyDeleteGI bleed from esophageal varices. Only smell that still makes me gag after 47 years.
ReplyDeleteI had C Diff when I was in 5th grade...I'll never forget my awesome mother spooning my diarrhea into a dish and taking it like a champ. Now I'm in nursing school and I expect to deal with things like that regularly!
ReplyDeleteStage 4 cervical cancer with cervical abcess is THEE WORST smell ever. Empyema is a close second!!
ReplyDeletePatient with multiple stage IV decubs, massive infection, with huge abount of purulent drainage. Had maggots in the wounds upon arrival. This is the only time an odor has bothered me. Had to double mask and put a tea bag in the mask to help cut the smell. Patient died a couple of days later.
ReplyDelete