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Discussion

Question about C. diff

I know you can get C. diff from antibiotics (allows overgrowth of other organisms) but if you're on antibiotics (heavy duty antibiotics) and one of the side effects is diarrhea....how would you know if you are just experiencing a normal side effect or C. diff??

Thanks!

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  • Experts

C. Diff diarrhea has has a really foul odor and is dark greenish and mucousy looking. It has to be identified by the doc ordering stools for C&S. The C. Diff bacteria can be seen and identified by lab techs examining a stool specimen after a few hours of incubation.

Once you've smelled it you'll never forget it.

Once you've smelled it you'll never forget it.

:yeahthat:

Ditto for rotavirus, GI bleed, and stool from necrotic bowel. It's amazing the number of GI ailments that can be diagnosed with a good nose.

C. Diff diarrhea has has a really foul odor and is dark greenish and mucousy looking. It has to be identified by the doc ordering stools for C&S. The C. Diff bacteria can be seen and identified by lab techs examining a stool specimen after a few hours of incubation.

Not always dark greenish and w/ mucus. Just had a resident w/ loose watery brown stools w/ "the smell." Came back + for C-diff.

Smells awful!

C. Diff diarrhea is normally pretty profuse and frequent, more often than just normal side effects. Diarhea stinks and I've never been able to tell c. diff from other poopy smells. If your concerned ask the doctor to order the patient a c. diff test.

When I was on heavy duty antibiodics I supplemented with a probiodic to keep my flora intact. Never had a problem.

The smell is beyond awful...

You'll never miss it...

Once you've smelled it you'll never forget it.

I heard someone once describe it as a "cross between the smell of poop and french fries."

Hmmmmm....

McDonalds, anyone?

I was taking care of a patient diagnosed with c diff in clinicals and she had a rectal tube in. It was great because it contained the stuff........nuff said .......and the smell. So much less to spread the contagion too. :yeah:

You will know it the second time you encounter it.

And don't forget to use soap and water for handwashing ... the alcohol stuff don't work. Neither does soap, it's the friction.

  • Author

Thanks for all the replies!!! Very helpful.... If this is an outpatient thing....patient given IV abx and then po abx at home....I was curious as to how they would be able to tell if they just had normal diarrhea or C. diff. The patient was also given Flagyl IV along w/ the IV abx....was that for C. diff prophylaxis??

  • Experts
thanks for all the replies!!! very helpful.... if this is an outpatient thing....patient given iv abx and then po abx at home....i was curious as to how they would be able to tell if they just had normal diarrhea or c. diff. the patient was also given flagyl iv along w/ the iv abx....was that for c. diff prophylaxis??

they still have to order a stool for c&s. c. diff can't be diagnosed from a patient report. you can suspect that it is c. diff and request an order for a stool for c&s from the physician. only a physician can diagnose this and they will wait for the c&s results before they do that. flagyl is one of the drugs used to treat this condition and it usually has to be given for several weeks. it will be followed by a stool sample for c&s to confirm that the bug has been obliterated. please read about this condition (see the weblink below). c. diff is a bacterial infection of persons whose immune system is weakened, usually by old age and/or having had large amounts of antibiotics. diarrhea is just one of the symptoms if the infection has gone untreated for some time. abdominal pain and abdominal cramping is another. when we got patients with this in the nursing home they didn't just get diarrhea. they also had nausea and abdominal pain. we had one poor patient in who they could not detect the bug for some time. she was not eating well, losing weight, having diarrhea, cramping, and getting abdominal pain so she wouldn't eat. eventually we got a positive stool on her, had her on flagyl and another antibiotic for over 3 weeks and we noticed a dramatic change in her eating. the underlying cause was finally being treated by the doc once he knew what it was, but he needed the proof that the bug was actually c. diff.

see http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch178/ch178d.html

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