C. diff.


C. diff.

abbr. See Clostridium difficile.

Clostridium

(klos-trid'e-um) [Gr. kloster, spindle] A genus of gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacilli in the family Bacillaceae. The genus comprises more than 250 species that are inhabitants of soil, water, and the intestinal tracts of humans and animals. Many species are pathogenic in humans, including those that colonize dead tissue, secrete numerous proteolytic enzymes, and cause gas gangrene.

Clostridium baratii

A species in which some strains produce a neurotoxin that causes botulism.

Clostridium botulinum

The species that causes most cases of botulism. Under anaerobic conditions, the bacteria produce a neurotoxin that causes paralysis by blocking the release of acetylcholine at neuromuscular junctions. See: botulism

Clostridium butyricum

A species in which some strains produce a neurotoxin that causes botulism.

Clostridium chauvoei

The organism causing blackleg or symptomatic anthrax in cattle.

Clostridium difficile

Abbreviation: C. diff.
A species that causes watery diarrhea, fever, anorexia, and abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by pseudomembranous colitis, esp. in patients previously treated with antibiotics or confined in health care settings. Most antibiotics (except aminoglycosides) have been associated with the development of C. diff.-associated disease, which varies in clinical significance from a relatively mild diarrheal illness, to one complicated by dehydration, electrolyte disturbances, toxic megacolon, and death.

Patient care

Outbreaks of C. diff. are found in many health care institutions, including nursing homes and hospitals. To prevent the spread of the disease in these facilities, staff should practice scrupulous hand hygiene, and patients affected by diarrheal illnesses should be isolated. Gowns and gloves should be worn by personnel attending infected patients. Linens should be disinfected, and other infection control practices followed. Surfaces potentially contaminated by clostridial spores should be treated with hypochlorite bleaches as a disinfectant. Personal patient care items should not be shared or re-used. Mild to moderately infected patients typically improve with the oral administration of metronidazole or vancomycin, although more severely ill patients may need infusions of vancomycin directly into the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with toxic megacolon may need surgery to remove damaged bowel. Fluid support intravenously, and other elements of general supportive care also apply.

 See: pseudomembranous colitis

Clostridium histolyticum

A species found in cases of gas gangrene.

Clostridium novyi

A species found in many cases of gas gangrene.

Clostridium perfringens

The most common causative agent of gas gangrene. Synonym: Clostridium welchii; gas bacillus

Clostridium septicum

A species found in cases of gangrene in humans, as well as in cattle, hogs, and other domestic animals.

Clostridium sordellii

A species that may cause anaerobic infections in bones, joints, soft tissues, the uterus, and elsewhere.

Clostridium sporogenes

A species frequently associated with other organisms in mixed gangrenous infections.

Clostridium tetani

The species that causes tetanus. See: tetanus

Clostridium welchii

Clostridium C. perfringens.

Clostridium difficile

Abbreviation: C. diff.
A species that causes watery diarrhea, fever, anorexia, and abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by pseudomembranous colitis, esp. in patients previously treated with antibiotics or confined in health care settings. Most antibiotics (except aminoglycosides) have been associated with the development of C. diff.-associated disease, which varies in clinical significance from a relatively mild diarrheal illness, to one complicated by dehydration, electrolyte disturbances, toxic megacolon, and death.

Patient care

Outbreaks of C. diff. are found in many health care institutions, including nursing homes and hospitals. To prevent the spread of the disease in these facilities, staff should practice scrupulous hand hygiene, and patients affected by diarrheal illnesses should be isolated. Gowns and gloves should be worn by personnel attending infected patients. Linens should be disinfected, and other infection control practices followed. Surfaces potentially contaminated by clostridial spores should be treated with hypochlorite bleaches as a disinfectant. Personal patient care items should not be shared or re-used. Mild to moderately infected patients typically improve with the oral administration of metronidazole or vancomycin, although more severely ill patients may need infusions of vancomycin directly into the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with toxic megacolon may need surgery to remove damaged bowel. Fluid support intravenously, and other elements of general supportive care also apply.

 See: pseudomembranous colitisSee also: Clostridium