"One Bum Per Toliet" to combat C. Diff.
According to the Globe and Mail, "the more roommates you have during a hospital stay, the greater your risk of acquiring a dangerous infectious disease such as Clostridium difficile, according to new Canadian research." The study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, shows that each roommate a patient is exposed to hikes his or her risk of infection by 10 per cent.
Earlier research showed that about 225,000 patients a year suffer from hospital-acquired infections that substantially extend their stays, and between 8,000 and 12,000 people die annually as a result. infection. The new study was conducted at Kingston General Hospital, which has 451 in-patient beds and about 17,000 patients a year. There are 107 single-occupancy rooms, 83 double-occupancy, six triple-occupancy and 19 quadruple-occupancy, plus open bay areas and specialized units such as intensive care.
Dr. Zoutman said the likely reason that roommates increase the risk of infection is that patients share a washroom. (The mantra in infection control is: One bum per toilet.) Another likely explanation involves inadequate handwashing by patients and health professionals alike; doctors sometimes don't wash their hands between patient visits in a single room.
If a person is elderly, has recurrent episodes of c dif (4 hospitalizations in the past 2 months) & is looking for a cure sholuld one refer to a gastroenterologist, infectious disease specialist or treatment center that specializes in the disease