Bowel Infection: A Case Study

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Bowel elimination is a physiological process in which waste is created by the metabolism of the body and is excreted by the gastrointestinal system. Diarrhea caused by clostridium difficile (C.diff) is due to a disruption in normal gastrointestinal flora. C.Diff is a gram-positive bacteria that is commonly found in patients within the hospital setting, and infection is often a consequence of antibiotic usage. Initially, the symptoms present as severe cramping of the abdomen, and frequent large watery stools. The symptoms associated with an infection caused by C.diff are the result of gastroenteritis which is “a very common health problem worldwide that causes diarrhea and/or vomiting as a result of INFLAMMATION of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestinal tract. It affects mainly the small bowel and can be caused by either viral or bacterial INFECTION” (Ignatavicius and Workman, 2016, p.1127). One of the largest barriers to treatment of a C.diff infection is the resistance to antibiotics. The CDC (2016) says “C.difficile caused almost half a million infections among patients in the United States in a single year. An estimated 15,000 deaths are directly attributable to C.difficile infections” (clostridium difficile section, para. 2) . C. diff is becoming a more common issue and hard to treat being listed as urgent threat by …show more content…

The client understood the necessity of isolation precautions, but stated being in isolation left them feeling lonely. The patient also expressed frustration with her original illnesses treatment leading to a secondary nosocomial infection in saying “How would you feel if you sought treatment for one thing and ended up with this nasty

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