On a daily basis, we see several patients in the Emergency Department who have diarrhea. A majority of them suffer from the “stomach flu” – a viral illness that goes away in a few days. However, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control, another form of diarrhea, caused by Clostridium difficile (C. diff), now accounts for 10,000 additional cases of colon infection each year. What is worrisome is that this intestinal superbug is now becoming resistant to the usual antibiotic treatments. Let’s look more closely at this intestinal infection.
What is Clostridium difficile? This is a common bacterium that is found virtually everywhere - including the soil, water, animals, and the colons of humans. A serious intestinal infection called colitis can result from the overgrowth of this bacterium within the colon.
Overgrowth of C. diff is usually a result of taking antibiotics for another infection, which then eradicate the normal microorganisms found within the intestines. This upsets the balance of gut flora within the colon and allows C. diff to rapidly grow and release toxins that cause colitis.
What are the symptoms? If infected, a patient may have profuse, watery diarrhea with an excess of 10 bowel movements per day. Patients may also have a fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, bloody stools, weight loss and severe dehydration. The elderly and very young may become very sick because their bodies can’t as readily cope with these symptoms.
Because C. diff is resistant to antibiotics and there is a rise in C. diff infections, more serious problems are being observed, including 5,000 deaths annually.
How should I get tested? Generally, individuals who have taken an antibiotic for another infection and begin to experience gastrointestinal issues are give a stool culture or blood test to see whether the C. diff toxins are present.
What is the treatment? This antibiotic-induced infection requires another antibiotic to eradicate the C. diff. The antibiotic chosen will vary according to the individual because C. Diff has become resistant to many of the common antibiotics.
If you experience any of these symptoms, especially after a course of antibiotics, you need to seek treatment. And in order to avoid the further development of superbugs, it is important that consumers begin to accept limiting their requests for antibiotics and health care providers do not over-prescribe antibiotics.
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