C-diff is a common bacterial disease most familiarized with older adults, but it has lately affected other people previously considered at low risk. As Lei et al. (2020) defined, C diff is a pathogenic bacterium that, when acquired, causes diarrhea and can be fatal when it inflames the colon. In most instances, the disease has been associated with antibiotic medications and is predominant in old adults. In most severe cases, the disease causes diarrhea, which results in dehydration and mostly results in hospitalization. According to Durovic et al. (2018), C-diff in hospitals is spread via contact with asymptomatic or symptomatic carriers or when exposed to a contaminated hospital environment. Nurses taking care of these patients in care units need to take caution and preventative measures to ensure personal and patients’ safety from these infections.
Every nurse and caregiver in a hospital setting needs to take caution to ensure the safety of both patients and themselves. Since C-diff is an infectious disease, there is a need to have standard preventative measures. The most effective way of avoiding contracting C-diff in care units as a nurse is by ensuring proper use of PPEs and hand hygiene at all times (Mirazimova & Mcninney, 2020). This will reduce the chances of nurses acquiring the diseases as well as transmitting them to other patients. Other ways of reducing the chances of infections vary from proper food disposal as well as implementing no sharing strategies. Where possible, all equipment in a care unit must be disposed of or well cleaned after being used. All rooms after patients have been discharged are also supposed to be cleaned thoroughly and disinfected. In conclusion, using proper protective gear as well as ensuring cleanliness and proper disinfecting practices will aid in preventing the spread of C-diff.
References
Durovic, A., Widmer, A., & Tschudin-Sutter, S. (2018). New insights into transmission of Clostridium difficile infection narrative review. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 24(5), 483-492. Web.
Lei, C., Mu, J., Teng, Y., He, L., Xu, F., Zhang, X., Sundaram, K., Kumar, A., Sriwastva, M. K., Lawrenz, M. B., Zhang, L., Yan, J., Feng, W., McClain, C. J., Zhang, X., & Zhang, H. (2020). Lemon exosome-like nanoparticles-manipulated probiotics protect mice from C. diff infection. iScience, 23(10), 101571. Web.
Mirazimova, N., & Mcninney, T. (2020). Multidisciplinary approach to stop the spread of clostridium difficile (C. diff) in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) unit. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, 26(3), S378. Web.