Stu Shiffman News 9/20/12

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.

5 thoughts on “Stu Shiffman News 9/20/12

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. @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.”

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