Tag Archives: CDC

C. diff. Survivor Shares How Life Is Not the Same After Losses

Posted in Loss of a Parent, Survivor Experience by

Flowers22

It could be Spring, it could be Summer the seasons really don’t matter anymore. 

A loss is a loss in life.  We loose more than we anticipate with any long-term illness and wellness draining diagnosis.  We loose even more deeply and permanently when our loved ones pass away from a multi-diagnosis treated either long-term or short- term  ~ it really doesn’t matter because bottom line — it’s a loss.

 

Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) is gram-positive, anaerobic, and a spore, rod/spindle-shape,  a common bacterium of the human intestine in 2 – 5%. C diff. becomes a serious gastrointestinal infection when individuals have been exposed to antibiotic therapy, and/or have experienced a long-term hospitalization, and/or have had an extended stay in a long-term care facility. However; the risk of acquiring a C diff. infection (CDI) has increased as it is in the community (community acquired) and can be found in outpatient settings. There are significant higher risk factors in patients who are immunosuppressant, ones who have been on antibiotic therapy, and the elderly population.

We know and understand “what” a C. difficile infection is, what we can not understand is what this, and many other healthcare-associated infections,  can do to our lives. 

The acute onset of a C. difficile diagnosis is received, treated, resolved only to have a re-occurrence of the same illness from which one has previously recovered, moving into a the long-term (chronic) debilitating illness.  It’s not the same for everyone as C. diff. is a very individualized diagnosis, as many other infections. 

The landscape of Clostridium difficile has changed over the decades; there are new strains, there are a lot more questions, and increased research is actively taking place worldwide.

The geriatric population used to carry the higher risk of acquiring this infection, however; that has also changed.  It is being diagnosed across the life-span.

“C. diff. knows no boundaries, this infection can be acquired by anyone, at any location, at any age.”

 

A loss is a loss in life.  We loose more than we anticipate with any long-term illness and wellness draining diagnosis — one like C. difficile.

Life is not the same after experiencing a loss; The loss of a loved one, the loss of employment, the loss of how the body used to just function without a care in the world.  The Gastrointestinal system endures more than it should especially after encountering three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten recurrences.

C. diff. claims lives,  rips away dreams and the families are changed forever.

The seasons and the holidays come and go, the healing takes time both emotionally and physically.  The losses are many from an infection — one that we can all try to prevent. 

 

handwashingnurse

PREVENTION:

Hand washing is so important, before and after meals, after using the restrooms, before cooking and touching food, after handling pets, and often.  It is the first defense of stopping the spread of germs and increasing personal safety.

Special contact precautions for prevention of the spread of infection can vary from strict isolation of the patient and such measures as wearing gloves, and a gown and healthcare professionals must use care when handling infectious material and soiled linens.

No matter what the diagnosis or status of the patient, hand washing for everyone – before and after each contact is imperative.

 

cdiffInfControl

In the care of patients for whom special precautions have not been assigned, gloves are indicated whenever there is direct contact with body fluids. Gowns are worn over the clothing whenever there is a positive stool test for C. diff. infection, and the possibility that one’s clothing/uniform could become soiled with infectious material.

When a definitive diagnosis of an infectious disease has been made and special precautions are ordered, it is imperative that everyone having contact with the patient adhere to the rules. Family members and visitors will need instruction in the proper techniques and the reason they are necessary.

 

 

PatientwashinghandswhelpOffering the patient a basin of water with soap, and a dry towel,  to wash their hands will also help. The patient is not exempt and this important infection prevention method will reduce the spread of germs and also reduce the reintroduction of the germs to your loved one — the patient.

 

Pill-bottlesAnd limiting the use of Antibiotics — discussing the diagnosis with the healthcare provider and knowing when they will be helpful treating  symptoms will also curb antibiotic resistance and prevent acquiring  C. difficile.

To listen to a live broadcast with Dr. Hicks and Dr. Srinivasan from the CDC and their discussion on  “How to use antibiotics wisely and how everyone can help in the fight against antibiotic-resistance,” on “C. diff. Spores and More” Cdiff Radio click on the following link

http://cdifffoundation.org/2016/02/10/using-antibiotics-wisely-how-everyone-can-help-in-the-fight-against-antibiotic-resistance-worldwide/

 

For more information on Infection Prevention, Antibiotic Resistance, Advocating for a loved one,             C. difficile information on “home care” and more ~ please visit the C Diff Foundation website     www.cdifffoundation.org

 

Life will not be the same for us and we can all make a difference from today forward in helping others save lives and prevent  C. difficile infections worldwide.

 

CandleLostLovedone

C Diff Foundation Opens a New Avenue – C. diff. Nationwide Community Support Program

Posted in Announcements, C diff Nationwide Community Support Program, support by

CdiffForRelease-1

The C Diff Foundation introduces the                                                                 C. diff. Nationwide Community Support (CDNCS) program beginning in November for patients, families, survivors and for anyone seeking information and support.

C. difficile (C. diff.) infections caused almost half a million infections among patients in the United States in a single year, according to a 2015 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In addition, an estimated 15,000 deaths are directly attributable to C. difficile infections, making them a substantial cause of infectious disease death in the United States. (See note below [i].)

As of 2015, there is an absence of professional C. diff. (CDI) support groups in America. The                         C Diff Foundation has pioneered a collaborative plan and developed support groups in a variety of availability and locations to meet the needs of individuals seeking C. diff. information and support.

“We found it to be of the utmost importance to implement this new pathway for support and healing after speaking with numerous patients, family members, and fellow-C. diff. survivors,”

The C Diff Foundation now speak for the thousands of patients within the United States who, each year, are diagnosed with a C. diff. infection. This growth, in part, reflects the value C. diff. support groups will provide, not only to patients, their spouses, and families who are living with and recovering from a C. diff. infection, but also to the countless number of individuals who will become more aware of a C. diff. infection, the importance of early detection, appropriate treatments, and environmental safety protocols. There will also be Bereavement support group sessions for  C. diff. survivors mourning the loss of loved ones following their death from C. diff. infection involvement.

Beginning November 2015 the CDNCS groups will be available to all individuals via: Teleconferencing with some groups advancing and adding computer application programs in 2016. CDNCS groups will provide support and information  to 15 participants in each session.

The CDNCS program sessions will be hosted via: Teleconferencing with leaders and fellow C. diff. survivors  from Maryland, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Ohio, and Oregon.

The Colorado CDNCS group is offered at a public venue and will be hosted in Arvada, Colo. every third Thursday of each month, beginning November 19th. The Meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7 p.m lead by a C Diff Foundation Volunteer Advocate and C. diff. survivor  Mr. Roy Poole.

To participate in any CDNCS group being offered during each month, all interested participants will be asked to register through the Nationwide Hot-Line (1-844-FOR-CDIF) or through the  website http://cdifffoundation.org/ where registered individuals will receive a reply e-mail containing support group access information.

  • The Support Registration Page  will be available on November 1st.

The C. diff. Nationwide Community Support group leaders will provide a menu of topics being shared each month on the C Diff Foundation’s website ranging from Financial Crisis Relief, Bereavement, Nutrition, Mental Health, to C. diff. infection updates and everyday life during and after being treated for a prolonged illness. Both Community based sessions and Teleconference sessions will host healthcare profession topic experts

There is evidence that people who attend support group meetings have a better understanding of the illness and their treatment choices. They also tend to experience less anxiety, develop a more positive outlook, and a better ability to cope and adapt to life during and after the treatment for C. diff.

There is a Purpose:

A diagnosis of a C. diff. infection is unexpected and almost always traumatic. As a result, it is not uncommon for newly diagnosed patients to experience a wide range of emotions including, confusion, bewilderment, anger, fear, panic, and denial. Many people find that just having an opportunity to talk with another person, who has experienced the same situation, to help alleviate some of the anxiety and distress they commonly experience.

Individuals also find that they benefit not only from the support they receive, but also from the sense of well-being they gain from helping others. It has been said “support is not something you do for others but rather something you do with others.”

“None of us can do this alone – all of us can do this together.”

Follow the C Diff Foundation on Twitter @cdiffFoundation #cdiff2015 and                                        Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CdiffFoundationRadio.

Note/citation: [i] http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/biggest_threats.html

C. diff. CDC Reports That Progress Is Being Made in Infection Control in U.S. Hospitals

Posted in C. diff. News Updates by

C. diff. CDC Reports On Major Healthcare-Associated Infections – Progress Being Made In Infection Control In U.S. Hospitals

Progress Being Made in Infection Control in U.S. Hospitals; Continued Improvements Needed

Progress has been made in the effort to eliminate infections that commonly threaten hospital patients, including a 46 percent decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) between 2008 and 2013, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  However, additional work is needed to continue to improve patient safety.

CDC’s Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) progress report is a snapshot of how each state and the country are doing in eliminating six infection types that hospitals are required to report to CDC. For the first time, this year’s HAI progress report includes state-specific data about hospital lab-identified methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections (deadly diarrhea).

Preventing infections in the first place means that patients will not need antibiotics to treat those infections.  This can help to slow the rise of antibiotic resistance and avoid patient harm from unnecessary side-effects and C. difficile infections, which are associated with antibiotic use. Continued progress and expanded efforts to prevent HAIs will support the response to the threat of antibiotic resistance

The annual National and State Healthcare-associated infection Infection Progress Report expands upon and provides an update to previous reports detailing progress toward the goal of eliminating HAIs. The report summarizes data submitted to CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), the nation’s healthcare-associated infection tracking system, which is used by more than 14,500 health care facilities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Healthcare-associated infections are a major, yet often preventable, threat to patient safety. On any given day, approximately one in 25 U.S. patients has at least one infection contracted during the course of their hospital care, demonstrating the need for improved infection control in U.S. healthcare facilities.

“Hospitals have made real progress to reduce some types of healthcare-associated infections – it can be done,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “The key is for every hospital to have rigorous infection control programs to protect patients and healthcare workers, and for health care facilities and others to work together to reduce the many types of infections that haven’t decreased enough.”

This report focuses on national and state progress in reducing infections occurring within acute care hospitals.

Although not covered by the report released today, the majority of C. difficile infections and MRSA infections develop in the community or are diagnosed in healthcare settings other than hospitals.

Other recent reports on infections caused by germs such as MRSA and C. difficile suggest that infections in hospitalized patients only account for about one-third of all the healthcare-associated infections.

Tracking National Progress On the national level, the report found a:

  • 46 percent decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) between 2008 and 2013. A central line-associated bloodstream infection occurs when a tube is placed in a large vein and either not put in correctly or not kept clean, becoming a highway for germs to enter the body and cause deadly infections in the blood.
  • 19 percent decrease in surgical site infections (SSI) related to the 10 select procedures tracked in the report between 2008 and 2013. When germs get into the surgical wound, patients can get a surgical site infection involving the skin, organs, or implanted material.
  • 6 percent increase in catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) since 2009; although initial data from 2014 seem to indicate that these infections have started to decrease. When a urinary catheter is either not put in correctly, not kept clean, or left in a patient for too long, germs can travel through the catheter and infect the bladder and kidneys.
  • 8 percent decrease in MRSA bloodstream infections between 2011 and 2013.
  • 10 percent decrease in C. difficile infections between 2011 and 2013. 

Research shows that when healthcare facilities, care teams, and individual doctors and nurses, are aware of infection control problems and take specific steps to prevent them, rates of targeted HAIs can decrease dramatically.

Data for Local Action The report provides data that can be used by hospitals to target improvements in patient safety in their facilities. For example, together with professional partners, CDC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organizations and Partnership for Patients initiative, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) increased attention to the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, resulting in a reversal of the recent increase seen in these infections. CAUTI data for early 2014 demonstrating these improvements will be publicly available on the CMS Hospital Compare website in 2015. CDC is also working to use HAI data to help identify specific hospitals and wards that can benefit from additional infection control expertise.

“Healthcare-associated infection data give healthcare facilities and public health agencies knowledge to design, implement and evaluate HAI prevention efforts,” said Patrick Conway, Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality and Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “Medicare’s quality measurement reporting requires hospitals to share this information with the CDC, demonstrating that, together, we can dramatically improve the safety and quality of care for patients.”

“Successful programs such as CUSP demonstrate that combining sound HAI data with effective interventions to prevent these infections can have enormous impact,” said AHRQ Director Richard Kronick, Ph.D.

State Data  Not all states reported or had enough data to calculate valid infection information on every infection in this report. The number of infections reported was compared to a national baseline.

In the report, among 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, 26 states performed better than the nation on at least two of the six infection types tracked by state (CLABSI, CAUTI, MRSA, C. difficile, and SSI after colon surgery and abdominal hysterectomy). Sixteen states performed better than the nation on three or more infections, including six states performing better on four infections. In addition, 19 states performed worse than the nation on two infections, with eight states performing worse on at least three infections.

The national baseline will be reset at the end of 2015. Starting in 2016, HAI prevention progress from 2016-2020 will be measured in comparison to infection data from 2015.

The federal government considers elimination of healthcare-associated infections a top priority and has a number of ongoing efforts to protect patients and improve healthcare quality.

CDC provides expertise and leadership in publishing evidence-based infection prevention guidelines, housing the nation’s healthcare-associated infection laboratories, responding to health care facility outbreaks, and tracking infections in these facilities.

Other federal and non-federal partners are actively working to accelerate the ongoing prevention progress across the country. In collaboration with CDC, these agencies use data and expertise to mount effective prevention programs and guide their work.

Source:  CDC

January 14, 2015