To: w0z who wrote (29158 ) 2/26/2015 4:36:57 PM From: w0z Respond to More on C. diff. And how stupid is Medicare not to fund fecal implant treatments which have a 90% success rate!C. difficile most common infection in U.S. hospitals infection control , Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), has become the most common infection in U.S. hospitals, according to a new study . Nearly half a million infections occur annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).About 29,000 people die yearly within 30 days of getting C. difficile. More than 80 percent people who die from C. difficile infections are 65 years old or older.new CDC study found that just a 30 percent decrease in antibiotic use in hospitals could lower C. difficile infections by more than 25 percent in hospitalized and in recently discharged patients.C. difficile costs as much as $4.8 billion annually in hospitals. One out of every five patient with C. difficile has a recurrence of the infection. One out of nine patients who are 65 or older with C. difficile die within 30 days of getting the infection. Nursing homes report more than 100,000 infections yearly.Groups most at risk of C. difficile are women and CaucasiansAbout two-thirds of infections appear to be linked to an inpatient stay in a hospital or other health care facility, with about the same number of cases occurring in nursing homes as in hospitals.The CDC has developed “ antibiotic stewardship programs ” to help hospitals improve antibiotic prescribing. The programs enlist all clinicians in hospitals to be aware of and follow prescribing protocols recommended by experts. Clinicians such as hospital epidemiologists, pharmacists, nurses, and quality improvement staff work together to make antibiotic prescribing more appropriate, based on guidelines from the CDC and infectious diseases organizations.CDC recommends that if you are a patient in a hospital or other health care facility, follow these steps to help prevent getting C. difficile:examiner.com
