Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is an anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium widely present in the hospital environment due to its ability to generate spores. The transfer of spores to patients through the hands of medical personnel is one of the most frequent paths of C. difficile transmission. In paediatric patients burdened with a serious primary illness requiring long-term hospitalisation and antibiotic therapy, C. difficile may be a significant risk factor for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. The goal of the study was to assess the state of hospital environments as a potential source of C. difficile spores and to establish the share of hyperepidemic strains at the two paediatric units. The survey for C. difficile was conducted with a C. diff Banana BrothTM medium, used to detect spores and to recover vegetative forms of the bacteria. Environmental samples (n = 86) and swabs from the clothing of medical personnel (n = 14) were collected at two units of a paediatric hospital, where the cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea with a C. difficile aetiology constitute a significant clinical problem. In 17 samples, a change in the broth’s colour was observed, indicating the presence of spores. Out of seven samples, C. difficile strains were cultured. The pathogenic isolates of C. difficile were obtained from swabs collected from elements of beds, a toilet, a door handle and a doctor’s uniform. In our study, we indicated points of increased risk of pathogen transmission, which could constitute a source of infection. The clothing of medical personnel may be a dangerous carrier of pathogenic spores. Periodical surveys of hospital environments with the use of specialist microbiological mediums successfully indicate the direction of corrective actions to be undertaken by the medical facility in order to increase patient safety.
Funder
EU-financed InterDoktorMen project
Subject
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference32 articles.
1. Current management of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection in adults: A summary of recommendations from the 2017 IDSA/SHEA clinical practice guideline;Ma;Pol. Arch. Intern. Med.,2018
2. Inhibition of Clostridium difficile TcdA and TcdB toxins with transition state analogues;Paparella;Nat. Commun.,2021
3. Clostridium difficile—A growing diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Clostridium difficile—A growing diagnostic and therapeutic problem;Albrecht;Onkol. Prak. Klin.,2013
4. Structure of the cell-binding component of the Clostridium difficile binary toxin reveals a di-heptamer macromolecular assembly;Xu;Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA,2020
5. Host Immune Responses to Clostridioides difficile: Toxins and Beyond;Nibbering;Front. Microbiol.,2021
Cited by
2 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献