“Absolutely terrible!! Normal feces are bad enough, but C Diff stools are simply revolting.” While not as descriptive, it is universally agreed upon that C Diff smells simply terrible. Here are some of the most common with direct quotes. There are so many ways to describe what C Diff smells like. Here are a few descriptions that experienced nurses have used to describe the unique odor of a C Diff infection. While descriptions of the scent can help, nothing beats real life experience! Many nursing students or new nurses are left wonder what that smell is so that they can try to identify it.

The unique scent of C Diff obviously exists and is quite specific to this particular infection. In one Dutch hospital, a two-year-old beagle was trained to smell C Diff and was found to be accurate in 265 out of 270 cases. One of the newest and more entertaining breakthroughs with C Diff detection is the advent of C Diff sniffing dogs. This means that while a nurse’s prediction of a positive C Diff culture may be reliable, it is not based solely on smell alone. In controlled laboratory settings, however, where the nurses were blind to patient characteristics (presence of diarrhea, antibiotic use, etc.) these results were not replicated. Other studies have shown that nurses can accurately identify C Diff stools by odor in up to 84% sensitivity and 77% specificity. Research studies have even been able to identify the volatile organic compounds that are unique to patients with C Diff supporting this theory. Many nurses swear that they can identify patients with C Diff by the smell of their stool alone.

Nurses are instrumental in early identification and isolation of infected patients decreasing the risk of transmission to more patients.

One of the most significant challenges with C Diff is the delay in detection. It is what is known as a nosocomial infection – an infection obtained while in hospital from infectious spread from other patients (also called a hospital-acquired infection). Frequently Asked C Diff Smell Questions and AnswersĬlostridium Difficile (C Diff) is an intestinal bacterium that has been wreaking havoc in hospitals and infection control departments.Physicians Explain When to Suspect Diarrhea is a Symptom of a Clostridium Difficile Infection.

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