Your Questions About C Diff Diarrhea Treatment
George asks…
Any one familiar with C.Diff?
My Mom had a bowel resection in June this year. She seemed fine after surgery, then about 4-5 days after discharge she developed severe diarrhea,nausea and vomitting. The surgeon put her on Flagyl and she really did not improve, but tried to put on a brave face. She got readmitted in early July because she could not keep even water down and had lost so much weight. She was tested for C.Diff a number of times and tested negative,but was treated as if she had C.Diff. Her symptoms did not improve and a colonscopy revealed severe Ulcerative Colitis,but still negative for C.Diff. She was placed on Prednisone, Asocol and Flagyl and sent home.She did not improve and was readmitted 10 days later.
Next admission, she tested positive for C.Diff and responded to treatment with Vancomycin. She was sent home with a step down regimne of oral Vanco and Prednisone.She seemed to be doing okay,not great,but better than before.
She completed her course of Vanco and tapering off of Prednisone when she developed an Upper Respiratory Infection. The docs were hesitant to put her on any other antibiotics, but did not want the URI to turn into pneumonia. Mom also has COPD,to make things more complex…She was put on Avalox for 8 days, one dose daily. That was when she developed all the signs of the C.Diff again.
So…my question is this,if anyone knows…What are some alternative treatments for resistant C.Diff?I have seen that severe, recurrant cases have had surgical intervention, but she has already had 18 inches of her bowel resected.I asked her GI team and they said that surgery is a last resort,which I would agree with. .Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Sorry for the long post,but I felt that more info might be helpful in this awful illness….
Jill answers:
C. Diff is short for Clostridium difficile; an anaerobic bacteria that can cause severe intestinal problems such as diarrhea, and tissue damage to the intestines. Colitis, toxic megacolon, intestinal perforation and in some cases, death.
It is a nosocomial (hospital acquired infection). It mostly occurs in patients who’ve taken antibiotics over a long period of time. The normal flora is killed off and the C.diff flourishes if it gets established.
The bacteria produce 2 toxins: Toxin A: an enterotoxin and Toxin B: a cytotoxin.
I’m including a website (Center for Disease Control); it has much more information that I can put in this space. The first article (a .pdf file) from Shea on C. Diff associated diarrhea and colitis is a good place to start.
We see C.diff in my lab about 2-5 times per month. We’ve done a good job in preventing its spread by strictly enforcing good handwashing techniques with the nurses and nursing assistants.
Hope she gets better soon!
John asks…
What is the likelihood that I have C-Diff?
My 9 month old son just tested positive for the bacteria infection called C-Diff. He was carrying this infection internally for several weeks before my husband and I ever knew. He’s been on the antibiotic Flagyl for about a week and half. I have tried to keep everything in the house squeaky clean, so not to spread the bacteria, however tonight I have had personal scare. I used the bathroom, and there was blood in my stool. Not like a hemroid blood, more liquidy and mixed with the feces. I’ve had a little diarrhea and some nausea, but chalked it up to a fluke. Since I found blood in my stool I’m concerned I might also have the bacteria infection C-Diff. If you have has this, or know something about the bacteria, symptoms, or treatments, please let me know. I’ll take all the information I can get. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the help.
Jill answers:
C-diff is very contagious and it’s hard to kill. You know those alcohol hand cleaners (hand sanitizers)? C-diff is one bacteria that those don’t kill. Considering you clean your son’s bottom when he goes poop, I’d think it’s pretty likely you got it. Usually C-diff poop smells really bad, worse than normal poop. Frequently you have nausea at the beginning of a C-diff infection. I’d call your doctor in the morning and get tested and get on treatment. C-diff is treated with Flagyl or oral vancomycin if the Flagyl doesn’t work adequately.
Chris asks…
Do you agree that the NHS have done more harm than good?
They’ve killed so many people using public money and covered it up using public money. How many have been killed through neglect? How many died because of being over-dosed on antibiotics to “cure” MRSA picked up at hospital, leading to C-diff, resulting in diarrhoea resulting in death through starvation and/or dehydration. How many stroke victims died from falls because no one was available to assist them with their toilet needs? How many have died because of undetected heart disease after reporting palpitations and getting no treatment? I know many.
Jill answers:
No. I agree with you partly but think of how many lives they save. And as much as we want to be cynical, they do save lives.
Answer mine?
Http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110127175459AA4DxvW
Susan asks…
Can some one help me?
HI, I am a 24 year old postgrad student. I had a UTI like symptons with testicular pain 3 months ago. I went to see my doctor and they performed UTI test and couldn’t detect anything. This was done 3 times in 3 days intervals. My symptoms were there and they prescribed Ciprofloxicillian for 7 days. This drug wasn’t very effective. After 10 days of this course i had urine culture and complete urine examination. Urine culture came back negitive whereas there were occasional bacteria and WBCs were detected in microscopic examination. At the same time i developed abdominal pain and went to see Gastroenterologist and he prescribed mebeverine and Flagell (anti- ameboic drug). I took this for seven days but wasn’t very useful. He suggested me to have Colonoscopy and also consult urologist. Then i went to urologist and had an ultrasouns scan and it showed thickning of bladder wall then he prescribed me Doxycycline (7 days) and Nitrofurintoin (2 weeks). This treatment seemed to work but wan’t 100%. I went to USS again after 4 days of that treatment and my bladder apeared normal. But over the time i am getting joint and muscle pain with water diarrhea on and off. I had LFTS, RFTS, CBCs and TFT’s they all normal. Complete stool examination was also fine. Negitive stool culture for parasites, shigella, salmonella, C. diff. and Helico etc. I also had negitive STD screen, negitive serum anti-nuclear antibody test and also normal PSA. My current abdomainal and testicular USS is normal. But i am still having lower abdominal, pelvic pain with back pain. Still having On and Off lose and hard stool. i m really worried and can someone help me what it could be? I ll really appreciate your help
Jill answers:
You might want to re-post your question in the Men’s health category instead of here in Languages. Here’s the link for you; click on ASK, and before you submit, verify that it’s in the right category:
http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/;_ylt=AqWenUybalrLh65SQP8tJlnYxQt.;_ylv=3?link=list&sid=396545224
Sandra asks…
Can someone provide medical advice?
HI, I am a 24 year old postgrad student. I had a UTI like symptons with testicular pain 3 months ago. I went to see my doctor and they performed UTI test and couldn’t detect anything. This was done 3 times in 3 days intervals. My symptoms were there and they prescribed Ciprofloxicillian for 7 days. This drug wasn’t very effective. After 10 days of this course i had urine culture and complete urine examination. Urine culture came back negitive whereas there were occasional bacteria and WBCs were detected in microscopic examination. At the same time i developed abdominal pain and went to see Gastroenterologist and he prescribed mebeverine and Flagell (anti- ameboic drug). I took this for seven days but wasn’t very useful. He suggested me to have Colonoscopy and also consult urologist. Then i went to urologist and had an ultrasouns scan and it showed thickning of bladder wall then he prescribed me Doxycycline (7 days) and Nitrofurintoin (2 weeks). This treatment seemed to work but wan’t 100%. I went to USS again after 4 days of that treatment and my bladder apeared normal. But over the time i am getting joint and muscle pain with water diarrhea on and off. I had LFTS, RFTS, CBCs and TFT’s they all normal. Complete stool examination was also fine. Negitive stool culture for parasites, shigella, salmonella, C. diff. and Helico etc. I also had negitive STD screen, negitive serum anti-nuclear antibody test and also normal PSA. My current abdomainal and testicular USS is normal. But i am still having lower abdominal, pelvic pain with back pain. Still having On and Off lose and hard stool. i m really worried and can someone help me what it could be? I ll really appreciate your help
Jill answers:
You are having so many weakness in your body. Before getting complicated, please check thoroughly and act as per doctor’s advice.we can suggest, but how far it will work to is not known. So, better a thorough checkup.
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Tags: Upper Respiratory Infection, Conditions and Diseases, abdominal pain, Jill answers, urinary tract infection
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