Can C. diff have long-term effects?

The overall burden of C. difficile colitis is, therefore, huge. Patients with CDAD are at risk of not only treatment failure and/or early recurrence [1, 2], but, as we show here, also long-term, debilitating, recurrent disease and death.

What are the long-term effects of untreated C. diff?

Left untreated or treated unsuccessfully, Clostridium difficile infection can lead to sepsis, an intestinal perforation, or death. Patients with severe Clostridium difficile infections are typically treated with the antibiotics vancomycin or metronidazole.

What is the ICD 9 code for Clostridium difficile colitis?

008.45
The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9) code used in this study was 008.45, “intestinal infection due to Clostridium difficile,” and is the only ICD-9 code related to CDAD.

What complications can C. diff lead to?

Complications

  • Dehydration. Severe diarrhea can lead to a significant loss of fluids and electrolytes.
  • Kidney failure. In some cases, dehydration can occur so quickly that kidney function rapidly deteriorates (kidney failure).
  • Toxic megacolon.
  • A hole in your large intestine (bowel perforation).
  • Death.

What happens if you keep getting C. diff?

The frequent bouts of watery stool can cause dehydration, which can lead to other complications like kidney failure. And, since C. diff is an infection, it can cause sepsis. And sepsis can be fatal.

Do you ever recover from C. diff?

People with Clostridium difficile infections typically recover within two weeks of starting antibiotic treatment. However, many people become reinfected and need additional therapy. Most recurrences happen one to three weeks after stopping antibiotic therapy, although some occur as long as two or three months later.

Are you ever cured of C. diff?

The new study shows that donor stool transplantation effectively cured 90 percent of patients’ recurrent C. diff infections. Transplanting donor stool is effective because it replaces the good bowel flora that was killed off by the use of antibiotics and naturally combats the invasive bacterium.

What is the ICD-10 code for C diff colitis?

ICD-10 code A04. 7 for Enterocolitis due to Clostridium difficile is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range – Certain infectious and parasitic diseases .

What is the ICD-10 code for C diff infection?

All patients with a positive laboratory result for C. difficile (Bact+) and/or the ICD-10 discharge code for C. difficile infection, A04. 7, as principal or associated diagnosis (ICD10+), were identified.

Why does C. diff keep coming back?

After an infection of C. diff is treated, symptoms may come back weeks or months later. This may happen because the first treatment did not fully cure the infection. Or it may happen because you were infected again with C.