C. Difficile Infections Are Prevelant In Nursing Homes says Elder Abuse Lawyer Steven Peck

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Law January 26th, 2013 2 min read

A couple of new developments on the C. difficile front should be encouraging news to anyone who is familiar with this potentially deadly bacterial infection. You might also know it as CDI, or Clostridium difficile infection.

First, scientists from UCLA and the University of Texas have been looking at possible cellular defense mechanisms against the two toxins that are released into the gut whenever C. difficile germs are growing in number. The scientists believe that human cells in the gut are capable of releasing molecules that will knock down these toxins, and that the cells can put up a fight through a drug-induced process called protein s-nitrosylation.

The process is seen as a much-needed new therapeutic approach toward an infection that often resists treatment with antibiotics. As of August 2011, the research team was ready to conduct clinical trials on humans, after successful trials on animals.

Second, the fight against C. difficile continues with at least three different research projects that show the effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplants for those patients whose infections keep recurring. That’s right — fecal material is transplanted into the patient’s body, usually by colonoscopy or by an infusion into the rectum.

Though it may sound unpleasant, the evidence suggests it can quickly stop C. difficile-related diarrhea and may eventually prove useful in reversing inflammatory bowel disease. The introduction of healthy fecal bacteria can restore balance to a digestive system wracked by CDI, the experts said.

The majority of C. difficile infections occur in hospital or nursing home settings, often because of poor hygiene. Overuse of antibiotics poses another problem, as the body loses the strains of bacteria that could normally fend off C. difficile.

In the United States, hundreds of thousands of people acquire C. difficile infections each year, with fatalities numbering between 15,000 and 20,000, according to an April 14, 2009, article in The New York Times. The symptoms include moderate to severe diarrhea, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and, in some cases, colitis.

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Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.