Doctors have diagnosed Stu’s latest problem – the one that put him back in ICU – to be an infection of Clostridium difficile, a disease generally associated with having been in hospitals and on antibiotics. It usually reacts well to certain other antibiotics and Stu will be staying in the ICU for a little longer while they get that going. The infection is described as serious but rarely life-threatening.
Around here we think of it as the Quebec hospital disease, since there was a big problem with C. Difficile in that province a year or two ago. A few people died as a result, but I believe that was compared to a much larger number who recovered once the infection was identified.
Hospitals are no place for the sick.
Hope Stu gets better.
C. diff. is easily spread by touch — the bacteria can live for ten days on a chromed surface, if I recall correctly. Stu should be on Contact Isolation — everybody visiting him should be gowned and wearing latex gloves before entering the room and remove them upon exiting, followed by immediate, thorough hand washing.
@David: Interestingly, here’s what Tom Whitmore mentioned in today’s journal entry: “Visitors still need to put on a gown and gloves to visit him, but not a mask.”
That’s correct protocol: C. diff. is not contagious through the air.