ACG: C. Difficile Spreads from Hospital to Community

[Sasha]

ACG: C. Difficile Spreads from Hospital to Community
Full Article:http://www.medpagetoday.com/CriticalCare/InfectionControl/16727

SAN DIEGO -- Clostridium difficile infection has spread from the hospital to the community but has proved manageable thus far, according to data reported here.

From 1991 to 2005, the incidence of community-acquired C. difficile in Olmsted County, Minn., quadrupled but still remained less common than the hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infection, Sahil Khanna, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting.

"Patients with community-acquired C. difficile infection were younger, more likely to be female, and less likely to have severe infections," Khanna observed.

Ick! Keep this in mind when you get a patient with signs and symptoms similar to C-Diff! Not an icky I would want to get! I had never even heard of C-Diff before I started IFT work!

 

[mycrofft]

Article makes little sense

Community aquired cases increased. Hospital aquired cases , not so much. Slow news day.

C.diff. is one of the prime reasons for NOT giving people with diarreah and a fever kaopectate, Lomotil/diphenoxylate or Immodium.

 

[DV_EMT]

Community aquired cases increased. Hospital aquired cases , not so much. Slow news day.

C.diff. is one of the prime reasons for NOT giving people with diarreah and a fever kaopectate, Lomotil/diphenoxylate or Immodium.

Funny story bout lomotil... We had a pt at the hospital who took 60 a day. We were shocked she took that much!

 

[mycrofft]

Diphenoxylate is the active metabolite of....

..Hydrocodone (vicodin), just in low dose. Morphine, codeine will do similar. "Donnatol" has belladona and phenobarb in low doses, does a good job and combats spasms. Trapping C. diff. in your gut is not good, exotoxins can accumulate.

Don't knwo about now, but Immodium used to be abused by the AIDS community hereabouts to get sleepy.

 

[Aidey]

C.diff. is one of the prime reasons for NOT giving people with diarreah and a fever kaopectate, Lomotil/diphenoxylate or Immodium.

Lesson number one, just because you can treat a symptom doesn't mean you should. If you eat something bad, and throw up, your body is doing what it is supposed to do. Why screw it up with an anti-emetic? Same with diarrhea and gastrointestinal infections.

 

[mycrofft]

Yeah. Off topic a little:

Laxatives kill.

 

[usafmedic45]

Funny story bout lomotil... We had a pt at the hospital who took 60 a day. We were shocked she took that much!

It's funny right up until they stop breathing.