C. Diff News and Research

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Hope for treatment of childhood infections may come straight from the gut: Therapeutic poop

Call it therapeutic poop, if you will, but the best hope yet for an effective treatment of childhood infections with the drug-resistant bacterium C. difficile may come straight from the gut, according to recent research.

30 Jul 2013

Infection control program and active surveillance can reduce incidence of impatient C. diff infections

A comprehensive infection control program combined with an active surveillance process significantly reduced the incidence of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections in a long-term acute care hospital, according to a study published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, the peer reviewed publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ).

10 Jul 2013

Unnecessary use of antibiotics in elderly women in EDs increases risk of unintended consequences

Older adults represent an important and growing demographic in emergency departments across the country, with urinary tract infections being one of the leading causes for ED visits.

23 Apr 2013

Study confirms effectiveness of UV-C-emitting device in combating pathogens in hospital environment

A recent study funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epicenters Program and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ( Deverick H. Anderson , M.D., MPH et al., 2013) supports and expands on previously published studies confirming the effectiveness of an automated UV-C-emitting device to combat the pathogens Clostridium difficile (C. diff.), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and Acinetobacter spp. – some of the common culprits of health care-associated infections drawing increased attention for hospitals across the country.

20 Apr 2013

Patients taking antihistamines to suppress stomach acid are at greater risk of C. diff infection

Patients receiving antihistamines to suppress stomach acid are at greater risk of infection from Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, a common cause of diarrhea, particularly in health care settings, Mayo Clinic researchers have found.

28 Mar 2013

Tissue damage, disease severity in C. diff. infection associated with disruption of PPARγ pathway

Researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection.

1 Dec 2012

Study of hospital-acquired infection yields potential therapeutic target

30 Nov 2012

WellStar Health System implements Xenex’s room disinfection system

WellStar Health System was the first to implement and is the only health system in metro-Atlanta using Xenex Healthcare Services' room disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms. A "green," mercury-free technology, the Xenex system is the fastest, safest and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

29 Nov 2012

Loyola announces 2012 Junior and Senior Scientist of the Year during St. Albert's Day

Katherine L. Knight, PhD, one of the nation's leading immune system researchers, has been named 2012 Senior Scientist of the Year at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, FAHA, who is doing groundbreaking research on a protein that is critical for the normal functioning of the heart, has been named 2012 Junior Scientist of the Year.

7 Nov 2012

Xenex offers room disinfection devices to hospitals hit by Hurricane Sandy

Xenex Healthcare Services, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems, today announced it is making its room disinfection devices available to hospitals affected by Hurricane Sandy.

3 Nov 2012

C. diff infections on the rise among children, elderly

Clostridium difficile infections are becoming more common and more severe in hospitalized children and the elderly, in large part due to greater use of antibiotics, Mayo Clinic researchers report in studies being presented at the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting.

23 Oct 2012

Novel therapy that uses human stool is safe and highly effective in treating C.diff infection

A novel therapy that uses donated human stool to treat the deadly and contagious C.diff infection is safe and highly effective, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

20 Oct 2012

Xenex Healthcare Services receives GSA contract to purchase room disinfection systems

Xenex Healthcare Services, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems, today announced it has been awarded a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract, making it even easier for federal agencies (including Veterans Affairs hospital systems) to purchase Xenex's room disinfection systems.

11 Oct 2012

Progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of C. diff infection

Surgeons are making progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of clostridium difficile colitis (C. difficile or C. diff), a vicious bacterial infection that is estimated to affect about 336,000 people each year, typically patients on antibiotics.

6 Oct 2012

Xenex's pulsed xenon UV more effective than bleach in decontaminating C. diff surfaces

Healthcare associated infections (also referred to as HAIs or hospital acquired infections) are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, costing more than $30 billion each year. Evidence continues to mount that hospital cleanliness plays a role in the spread of HAIs, which are caused by deadly pathogens such as C. diff, MRSA, VRE and Acinetobacter.

19 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Romney in WSJ column offers lessons from Bain; Ryan's ideological vote against curbing the deficit

My presidency would make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get the investment dollars they need to grow, by reducing and simplifying taxes; replacing Obamacare with real health-care reform that contains costs and improves care; and by stemming the flood of new regulations that are tying small businesses in knots.

26 Aug 2012

Hospital records link C.diff to 2 times more deaths than federal estimates indicate

A USA TODAY investigation shows that C. diff is far more prevalent than federal reports suggest. The bacteria is linked in hospital records to more than 30,000 deaths a year in the United States -- about twice federal estimates and rivaling the 32,000 killed in traffic accidents. It strikes about a half-million Americans a year.

17 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 16, 2012

In this Kaiser Health News video, Insuring Your Health columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about what you can do when insurance only covers a portion of an ambulance bill.

16 Aug 2012

Survey of home healthcare practices related to infection control

A healthy boy was infected with antibiotic-resistant bacterium that was traced to his mother's nurse's bag left in the family's car after his mother's home healthcare visit to a patient with the same infection. Although the boy's infection and the patient's infection were never DNA tested, the coincidence was remarkable.

26 Jun 2012

MountainView Hospital first in Nevada to use Xenex’s room disinfection device

In an ongoing effort to improve patient safety, MountainView Hospital today announced it is the first hospital in Nevada to use Xenex Healthcare Services' innovative germ-zapping room disinfection technology to keep patients even safer from infections.

21 Jun 2012