Definitions for Clostridium difficile
clostrid·i·um dif·fi·cile

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. clostridium difficile

   Clostridioides difficile (syn. Clostridium difficile) is a bacterium that is well known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer. Also known as C. difficile, or C. diff (), is Gram-positive species of spore-forming bacteria. Clostridioides spp. are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature and especially prevalent in soil. Its vegetative cells are rod-shaped, pleomorphic, and occur in pairs or short chains. Under the microscope, they appear as long, irregular (often drumstick- or spindle-shaped) cells with a bulge at their terminal ends (forms subterminal spores). Under Gram staining, C. difficile cells are Gram-positive and show optimum growth on blood agar at human body temperatures in the absence of oxygen. C. difficile is catalase- and superoxide dismutase-negative, and produces up to three types of toxins: enterotoxin A, cytotoxin B and Clostridioides difficile transferase (CDT). Under stress conditions, the bacteria produce spores that are able to tolerate extreme conditions that the active bacteria cannot tolerate.Clostridioides difficile is an important emerging human pathogen; according to the CDC, in 2017 there were 223,900 cases in hospitalized patients and 12,800 deaths in the United States. Although C. difficile is commonly known as a hospital and antibiotic associated pathogen, at most one third of infections can be traced to transmission from an infected person in hospitals, and only a small number of antibiotics are directly associated with an elevated risk of developing a C. difficile infection (CDI), namely clindamycin, fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins. The majority of infections are acquired outside of hospitals, and most antibiotics have similar elevated risk of infection on par with many non-antibiotic risk factors, such as using stool softeners and receiving an enema.Clostridioides difficile can also become established in the human colon without causing disease. Although early estimates indicated that C. difficile was present in 2–5% of the adult population, more recent research indicates colonization is closely associated with a history of unrelated diarrheal illnesses, such as food poisoning or laxative abuse. Individuals with no history of gastrointestinal disturbances appear unlikely to become asymptomatic carriers. These carriers are thought to be a major reservoir of infection.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Clostridium difficile

   Clostridium difficile, also known as "CDF/cdf", or "C. diff", is a species of Gram-positive bacteria of the genus Clostridium that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics. Clostridia are anaerobic, spore-forming rods. C. difficile is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis, a severe inflammation of the colon, often resulting from eradication of the normal gut flora by antibiotics. In a very small percentage of the adult population, C. difficile bacteria naturally reside in the gut. Other people accidentally ingest spores of the bacteria while they are patients in a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility. When the bacteria are in a colon in which the normal gut flora has been destroyed, the gut becomes overrun with C. difficile. This overpopulation is harmful because the bacteria release toxins that can cause bloating and diarrhea, with abdominal pain, which may become severe. C. difficile infections are the most common cause of pseudomembranous colitis, and in rare cases this can progress to toxic megacolon, which can be life-threatening.

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Clostridium difficile

   A common inhabitant of the colon flora in human infants and sometimes in adults. It produces a toxin that causes pseudomembranous enterocolitis (ENTEROCOLITIS, PSEUDOMEMBRANOUS) in patients receiving antibiotic therapy.

How to pronounce Clostridium difficile?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Clostridium difficile in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Clostridium difficile in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

References

1. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_Difficile
2. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Clostridium difficile