Weddingbee boards

Ok, so I realized this is totally random, but I thought someone might find this funny (or just completely gross).  That and I'm tired of working on the presentation.

So I'm giving an hour presentation tomorrow to a group of professionals, and the topic is diarrhea.  It's actually about Clostridium difficile associated disease and a new drug that came on the market last month.  Basically, if you acquire this bacteria (which is more often seen in hospitals than the general community), it could kill you, so it is an important topic to discuss.

BUT... my research led to me the topic of... fecal transplantation.  I.e. a relative donates a fecal specimen so you can use it to replenish you gut with "good" bacteria.  And per one of the articles I was reading:  the equipment needed for home fecal transplantation includes a 200mL bottle of normal saline, a 2 quart enema bag and a standard kitchen blender. 

My husband thought it would be hilarous if I brought in props to demonstrate (with a candy bar) how to make the slurry.  Now I can't stop laughing everytime I practice this part of the presentation. 

Sigh.... What a fun topic to be discussing.

I am going to boil all parts of my blender now. I will never be able to look at a brown concoction made in a blender the same way again. 

OMG!  I actually got C. diff from taking too many antibiotics.  My doctor felt horrible!  But honestly, I would never do this fecal transplantation!  I don't know anyone who would actually donate either!

@Kitty79: It's a really terrible infection to get, especially when it isn't resolved with traditional therapies.  I'm not sure if this would help you, but here is the link to the abstract.  Of course this isn't medical advice, but I would encourage your dad (or whoever talks to the doctor) to see if he would be a candidate if the issue recurs (asking never hurts).  Typically they want to screen for various transmittable diseases, so please don't try this without consulting with a healthcare professional!  Oh, and please don't think that I was taking the topic lightly - it's just the first I've heard of home transplantation instead of in a supervised medical center.

@BoiledPNut: All the people in this study had recurrent infections lasting 6-23 months and failed traditional therapies.  Up to 20 bowel movements a day is possible, so I'm guessing it would even be hard to leave the house (and and having part of your colon removed and unfortunately even death can be complications). 

Either way, I don't think I would be able to reuse the kithcen blender after this use!

@paperumbrella: It's called fidaxomicin (Dificid).  It actually pretty similar to vancomycin PO in terms of efficacy and safety.  It's a 200mg tablet given BID with or without food x 10 days and it has very low systemic absorption (which limits side effects).  The phase 3 clinical trials showed non-inferiority with vancomycin 125mg PO QID, but decreased rates of recurrence, particularly with certain strains of C. diff.  It's not in the guidelines yet because it's so new, so I don't know where it will fall in terms of place in therapy. 

I wouldn't expect to see it too commonly in hospitals yet though.  A 10 day course of therapy is about $2800 (compared to <$60 if your hospital uses IV vancomycin orally).