Final answer:
To care for a patient with Clostridium difficile, use infection control measures, practice good hand hygiene with soap and water, and isolate the patient as needed. Start treatment by discontinuing antibiotics if possible, and provide supportive therapy. Use metronidazole or vancomycin as the primary treatments.
Step-by-step explanation:
When caring for a client with Clostridium difficile, strict precautions are necessary due to its high level of contagion and resistance to many antibiotics. It is important to practice infection control measures such as wearing gloves and gowns, and meticulous hand washing with soap and water as alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not effective against C. difficile spores. Isolation of the patient may also be required to prevent the spread of the infection. Additionally, environmental cleaning and disinfection of surfaces with sporicidal agents are crucial in controlling the spread of C. difficile.
Treatment for C. difficile should begin with the discontinuation of the inciting antibiotic, if possible. Supportive therapy with fluids and electrolytes is also important due to dehydration risks from diarrhea. For the pharmacologic management of C. difficile, metronidazole is generally the first choice, and if it is ineffective or not suitable, vancomycin may be used. In some cases, a fecal transplant from a healthy donor has been shown to be effective after other treatments have failed.