Infection Control

C. diff more prevalent than previously believed

Briefings on Infection Control, January 1, 2009

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After reading this article, you will be able to:

  • Describe the conclusions of the APIC study
  • List at least five steps hospitals can take to cut C. diff infections

A new nationwide APIC study shows the number of C. diff infections may be six to 20 times higher than previous estimates and that these infections may kill as many as 301 patients per day in hospitals across the United States. Based on prevalence rates, researchers estimated that C. diff infections cost an average of $32.1 million per day nationwide.

C. diff affects children, adults, and the elderly. And hospitals should be doing more to combat its spread, said experts at the November APIC press conference announcing the study results.

“We believe that this study should be a wake-up call for healthcare providers everywhere,” said Kathy L. Warye, CEO of APIC.

Healthcare administrators need to ensure that their facilities have adequate staff and resources and should make changes to combat infections, from bolstering environmental cleaning practices to establishing antimicrobial stewardship programs.

 

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Briefings on Infection Control.

Comments

1 comments on “C. diff more prevalent than previously believed ”

brenda j. macdowell (3/8/2009 at 11:11 AM)
My mother died of c.diff just three months age. If i had been more knowledgeable concerning probiotics perhaps i could of saved her life and she would still be with us today. Saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic that has been proven to be effective in fighting recurrent c.diff- associated desease. yet the hospitals never make mention of probiotics. the maine medical center where my mother was is a teaching hospital and known for research yet no word of the possible life saving benifits of probiotics. if i had only known three months ago i would have given my mom the probiotic evryday. i feel that hospitals annd doctors are not paying attention to this deadly bug called c. difff. the nurses and doctors never connected the dots of my mothers symptoms untill it was too late and the c.diff had had aggresssivly made her so very ill.

 

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