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Intestinal superbug is causing more illnesses (colitis), and deaths

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/29/2008 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
AP - Wed May 28, 7:03 PM ET

ATLANTA - The number of people hospitalized with a dangerous intestinal superbug has been growing by more than 10,000 cases a year, according to a new study.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_he_me/deadly_bacteria;_ylt=Aq.LuNnnBty4Y_aGu5u2C73VJRIF
Posted 5/29/2008 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
Is there any test to find that you have C diff or not. my husband is diagnosed for UC after colonoscopy and biopsy. does anyone know if it is good enough. He never had any stool tests etc. the reason i am asking because he has appndix surgery in mid of jan and was diagnosed with UC first week of march. i wonder is it a possibility that he has c diff etc. currently he is on asacol and hydrocortisone enemas
Posted 5/29/2008 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
He certainly should be tested for c-diff, and it is its own test, not something routinely given folks.

There's a few red flags that make it sound like a possibility:

He had surgery and was in a hospital.
He was probably given antibiotics.
He was diagnosed shortly afterwards with colitis.

Unfortunately, my simmering-below-the-surface UC became symptomatic after my
little episode of c-diff.

Good luck!

Mitz
Posted 5/29/2008 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
I should prolly get tested.. It doesn't appear treatable though.
Posted 5/29/2008 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
thanks but does any one what sort of test is used to classify or eliminate c diff?? is it a blood test or a stool test??
Posted 5/29/2008 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
C. diff is diagnosed through a stool culture. Most GI's do these routinely when they first see you - you know, when you have to take in four or five little cups of poo? At least, both of my GI's have. After that, testing is done if the specific symptoms of this infection are present. It is treatable with a few antibiotics, but can it can be a long and difficult course to get rid of it.

C. diff is also the primary concern with antibiotic therapy, as it is opportunistic and will inhabit a sterile colon and increase rapidly. This is why big doses of probiotics are important when on antibiotics.

Posted 5/30/2008 2:48 AM (GMT 0)
thanks for the info. i will definitely ask his GI to get the stool culture done, atleast it can help eliminate some of the issues

Posted 5/30/2008 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
I just wanted to clearify something that may be causing some confusion.....Colitis means inflamation of the Colon and it is different than Ulcerated Colitis....Ulcerated Colitis is a cronic illness.

Ive had Cdiff before and it was not fun, I contracted it while in the hospital. My GI was kind of happy that I had it because to him it was easier to treat the Cdiff than a UC flare. They gave me Vancomycine which knocked it out.

--Keith
Posted 5/30/2008 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
but how do you know that it is colitis or ulcerative colitis? besides what the doctor sees during colonoscopy is there any way to tell?? can biopsy will answer this question whether it is colitis of ulcerative colitis?? thanks for the reply
Posted 5/30/2008 10:42 AM (GMT 0)
Biopsies are needed to properly diagnose UC. Even then it isn’t always accurate. I was diagnosed with C diff last year and I couldn’t tell the difference with my UC symptoms. Even after I got rid of it my symptoms stayed the same. My doctor said this can happen with UC patients when they are flaring.
Posted 5/30/2008 11:49 AM (GMT 0)
At my last scope with a new GI he saw c-diff and afterwards was "hopeful" that is was the underlying cause of all my issues and not UC. I was doubtful cause UC was a part of my life 3+ years. So apparently it is not possible to distinguish between the inflammation cause by UC vs c.diff. during a scope Another determining factor for c.diff is the smell. I was treated sucessfully with Vancomyocin and my symptoms did not change as far as the urgency/frequency until I did a 7 month course of pred and started imuran. Things are very different now and I'm more grateful than words can tell!
Posted 5/30/2008 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
all of you right. i am not sure it is diagnosed correctly or not. the reason c diff bothers me is because of hospitalization in jan. that's why i said if theer is some test which i can request to GI to rule out c diff since he doesn't seem to be intersted??
what do you mean by the smell of c diff??
Posted 5/30/2008 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
When I had Cdiff (eons ago), the smell was absolutely horrible. Worse then what a normal Uc flare would smell like - at least for me it was. Mine was brought on by antibiotics because at the time, I was almost always on them for some sort of infection. I can't quite remember which med I used to treat it but I believe it was Flagyl (?). It got rid of it, but the symptoms were definately different the a Uc flare. For me it was rapid, explosive and majorly watery D about 30x's a day and severe abdominal pain. Because of the nature of the stool, my GI at the time did a stool culture and found that critter.

And definately request the test from your GI to rule it out. You have every right to do so.
Posted 5/30/2008 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
newucpat, I think the test for c. diff. is a stool sample. I think you should ask your husband's GI to order one since it wasn't done before.
I do think the symptoms for UC and c. diff. are similar b/c when my flare became a lot worse a couple weeks ago, the first thing my GI did was order a stool sample to check for infections.
Posted 5/30/2008 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for all the advice. after reading with all these replies i am now realizing that a very bad prominent smell was there which now has gotten better when he started taking hydrocortisone enemas 10 days back
Posted 5/30/2008 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
My doc was the one who commented on the smell and visual evidence for c-diff that he saw during the colonoscopy. My sis who's an RN said a distinct smelling D is often a clue to c-diff. (what an odor to have in your nose "memory") Glad the smell is better but since enemas will not impact a c-diff infection, I would pursue stool testing and not rely on smell alone....if you continue to question c-diff as a possible diagnosis. I didn't have a clue that I had the infection.
Posted 5/30/2008 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
Let me clue you in that there's a fairly large potential for a false negative on a c-diff test, but you will never get a false positive.

I *insisted* my doc test me for c-diff. He did a flex sig and diagnosed me with UC. He really reluctantly did the c-diff test and I think it was his first encounter with the problem. (He's a GP). Anyway, you're wise to pursue it. The colon will look virtually the same if it's uc as c-diff.

Flagyl is usually the first prescribed med to treat c-diff. If that doesn't work after one or two course, they'll bring out the big guns (Vancomycin).

Good luck!

Mitz
Posted 5/30/2008 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for all the replis. it is very helpful and amazing to gain so much information so quickly from so many supportive poeple. we will ask the GI to get the stool culture done whether he likes it or not.
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