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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffTo help prevent the spread of C. difficile, hospitals and other health care facilities follow strict infection-control guidelines. If you have a friend or family member in a hospital or nursing home, don't be afraid to remind caregivers to follow the recommended precautions.
Preventive measures include:
- Hand washing. Health care workers should practice good hand hygiene before and after treating each person in their care. In the event of a C. difficile outbreak, using soap and warm water is a better choice for hand hygiene, as alcohol-based hand sanitizers may not effectively destroy C. difficile spores. Visitors also should be diligent about washing hands with soap and warm water before and after leaving the room or using the bathroom.
- Contact precautions. People who are hospitalized with C. difficile have a private room or share a room with someone who has the same illness. Hospital staff and visitors wear disposable gloves and gowns while in the room.
- Thorough cleaning. In any setting, all surfaces should be carefully disinfected with a product that contains chlorine bleach. C. difficile spores can survive routine cleaning products that don't contain bleach.
- Avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed for viral illnesses that aren't helped by these drugs. Take a wait-and-see attitude with simple ailments. If you do need an antibiotic, ask your doctor to prescribe one that has a narrow range and that you take for the shortest time possible.
References
- Kelly CP, et al. Treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 28, 2010.
- Bartlett JG. Narrative review: The new epidemic of Clostridium difficile-associated enteric disease. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2006;145:758.
- Pepin J, et al. Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a region of Quebec from 1991 to 2003: A changing pattern of disease severity. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2004;171:466.
- Kelly CP, et al. Clostridium difficile — More difficult than ever. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;359:1932.
- LaMont JT. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 28, 2010.
- Efron PA, et al. Clostridium difficile colitis. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2009;89:483.
- Monaghan T, et al. Recent advances in Clostridium difficile-associated disease. Gut. 2008;57:850.
- Kelly CP, et al. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea, pseudomembranous enterocolitis, and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger and Fordtan's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..00108-6. Accessed Sept. 30, 2010.
- Bartlett JG, et al. Clinical recognition and diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2008;46(suppl):S12.
- Bakken JS. Fecal bacteriotherapy for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Anaerobe. 2009;15:285.
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