Final answer:
Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium associated with health-care settings, causing infections ranging from antibiotic-associated diarrhea to potentially fatal conditions like pseudomembranous colitis. It produces toxins that can lead to severe gastrointestinal symptoms and requires careful diagnosis, often involving molecular techniques such as NAATs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium that becomes a considerable concern in healthcare settings when it causes infections. It is commonly associated with antibiotic-associated diarrhea and more severe conditions such as pseudomembranous colitis. The normal microbiota can be disrupted by factors such as long-term antibiotic use, which may lead to an overgrowth of C. difficile. This bacterium is particularly problematic in hospitals and can lead to serious health issues in immunocompromised patients, the elderly, and those with a history of gastrointestinal procedures or antibiotic use.
The bacteria produce two potent toxins, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB), which can lead to cell death and inflammation in the colon, forming a pseudomembrane. Symptoms of a C. difficile infection may include watery diarrhea, dehydration, fever, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain. In severe cases, it can cause colon perforation, leading to septicemia, shock, and potentially death. To diagnose C. difficile infection, healthcare providers may consider patient history, clinical presentation, and may use tests such as nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) to detect the bacterial genes like the one encoding toxin B (tcdB).