Clostridium Difficile Infection in Long-Term Care Facilities

Book excerpt: This book aims to fill knowledge gap among healthcare workers about Clostridium difficile (also known as C.difficile and CDI) among aging patients, especially those in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Written by experts in infectious diseases and geriatric medicine, this book provides comprehensive information on all aspects of CDI pertaining to LTCF settings, including epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, management and the unique challenges faced by LTCFs with regards to the CDI problem. The book begins by introducing the topic as it relates to aging patients before delving into the various aspects of CDI management. Topics include infection control and prevention, treatment of CDI, and the establishment of antibiotic stewardship programs to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and reduce CDI rates. The book also features a chapter on probiotics for the prevention of CDI and new strategies to monitor environmental cleaning practices of CDI patient rooms that do not appear in any other resource. Clostridium Difficile Infection in Long-Term Care Facilities is an excellent resource for geriatricians, infectious diseases specialists, long-term care administrators, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, and all clinicians working with infections in long-term care settings.