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Upson Regional Medical Center has no Hospital Associated C. diff cases in 2020
Clostridioides difficile (also known as C. diff ) is
a bacterium that causes diarrhea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon). According to the CDC, it’s estimated to cause almost half a million illnesses in the United States each year. Upson Regional Medical Center is pleased to report that there have been no hospital associated cases of C. diff in 2020.
“We have a new laboratory test that was started in November 2019 to test for C. diff. This test looks for toxin A and toxin B, which are the components C. diff produces. In the past, we had a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that gave us results that were less conclusive. Since we started this new laboratory test, we have not had any cases of hospital acquired C. diff,” said Director of Infection Prevention, Danny McBride.“We are catching it on the front end quickly. If someone comes in with symptoms
of C. diff, such as diarrhea or fever, we get them tested right away,” McBride added.
Probiotics are being used as well at Upson Regional Medical Center, which is good for C. diff prevention.“We are now up there with the highest performing hospitals in the state,” McBride said.“My hope is that we
can continue the trend of no hospital acquired cases of C. diff,” he added.
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