Colonoscopy as testing

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Mzperx
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Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 4:19 am

Colonoscopy as testing

Postby Mzperx » Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:36 am

I've only recently found out about the existence of this infection due to an elderly relative being hospitalized and getting infected.
My sister (not the same relative) had cdiff like symptomps (watery and yellowish stools but without awful cramping) for about a month last year. And still has BM 3-4 times a day. She doesn't remember whether she had taken antibiotics prior... I'm not even sure if toxin search in stool sample was conducted, but colonoscopy and endoscopy was definitely done and she ended up with an IBS diagnosis and some kind of intolerancy of dairy. So, I'd like to ask if colonoscopy is appropriate for ruling out cdiff? She says she feels fine and I'm overworrying , but after reading about cdiff, my head is spinning and I see killer spores and danger everywhere. I'm really concerned about being asymptomatic myself but still colonized and spreading stuff to others.

AllisS
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Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:52 pm

Re: Colonoscopy as testing

Postby AllisS » Sat Jun 01, 2019 7:46 pm

I don't know the answer about colonoscopy as a diagnostic test for C. diff, though I've not heard of it being used in that way before and it's certainly not the typical way to test. But hopefully I can put to rest your concerns about being colonized and infecting others. C. diff is in the environment all around us at all times; it's not a disease in itself and becomes so, in the form of C. difficile colitis, only when an individual becomes vulnerable, most commonly due to having taken wide-spectrum antibiotics or being immunocompromised for some reason.

C. diff is transmitted solely through the fecal-to-oral route: the spores would literally need to be ingested, from hand to mouth or conceivably hand to nose. Conditions for such a thing happening are seldom found outside of healthcare or rehab facilities or nursing homes, where a medical worker might fail to observe proper hygiene measures after caring for a patient who has C. diff and uncontainable diarrhea.

That said, it's prudent to wash one's hands thoroughly with soap and wate, after bathroom use, before preparing or eating food, or after having been out in the world and returning home -- especially if one has visited someone in a healthcare facility. Hand sanitizers will not kill C. diff spores, though many people, including, unfortunately, many healthcare workers, are under the impression that they will.

If C. diff were as easily transmissible as you surmise, there would be such a major epidemic that hospitals and doctors' offices would be overflowing with people who have contracted it.
If your illness was preceded by use of a medication, e.g., an antibiotic, please fill out an FDA Adverse Event Report at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm

Mzperx
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Posts: 12
Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 4:19 am

Re: Colonoscopy as testing

Postby Mzperx » Sun Jun 02, 2019 12:09 pm

Thank you, Allis.
I really, really, hope that a private gastroenterologist would have thought of cdiff, if it had been a concern for my sister. I have read that cdiff and IBS can be mistaken sometimes.
I was lucky to not have very much contact with hospitals, and healthcare in general, and what I see now really makes me sad. Ignorance is a bliss, I suppose. And it's really hard in my country to get information. There is a very big deficit in money, medical personnel and basic hospital devices and equipment as well. Very few infectiologists are even trained here. Hospitals are fighting an uphill battle to control HAIs. My grandma is being treated for cdiff right now with other underlying issues and an accident, so I worry about her a lot and about others catching it. Roy and you (and reading answers on this forum) put my mind at ease a bit, thank you very much.
I read here about cdiff, and I know that normally it requires unlucky conditions to happen at the same time to get infected, but having been somewhat exposed to it at the hospital (for some time we weren't informed about the infection, so e.g. my mom touched soiled clothing) I'm even worrying about a possible situation in the future, which I know is really not healthy, because I can't do anything about it right know other than washing my hands and not taking antibiotics as candy.
Thank you again, and I'll try to refrain myself from loading my anxiety on this forum. :)


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