title: Preventing clostridium difficile infection in the intensive care unit.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is a formidable problem in the twenty-first century. Because of injudicious use of antibiotics, the emergence of the hypervirulent epidemic strain of this organism has been difficult to contain. The NAP1/BI/027 strain causes more-severe disease than other widely prevalent strains and affects patients who were not traditionally thought to be at risk for Clostridium difficile infection. Critically ill patients remain at high risk for this pathogen, and preventive measures, such as meticulous contact precautions, hand hygiene, environmental disinfection, and, most importantly, antibiotic stewardship, are the cornerstones of mitigation in the intensive care unit.
authors.affiliation: EviMed Research Group, LLC, Goshen, MA 01032, USA. evimedgroup@gmail.com
authors.forename: Marya D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Zilberberg
authors.forename: Andrew F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Shorr
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000592:standards / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016638:Critical Illness; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D063373:Hand Hygiene / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D015995:Prevalence; D019936:Probiotics / Q000592:standards / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D014774:Virulence / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents