Its International Infection Prevention and Control Week this week and today we need to talk stools.
The Clostridioides difficile procedure has been updated in line with National Guidance and now all patients with Bristol stool type 5, 6 or 7 must be risk assessed.
This change has been facilitated by the introduction of rapid intestinal testing which will allow more effective use of limited side-room capacity.
Patients who have had one or more episodes of type 5, 6 or 7 stools, and who do not have alternative reason to have diarrhoea (e.g. laxatives, enemas, inflammatory bowel disease, total parenteral nutrition, enteral feed or recent GI surgery), must be tested and isolated as soon as possible. Alternatively, if a side-room is not immediately available, a rapid test may be requested to rule out infection. Please can all colleagues requesting a rapid test ensure that they have followed the correct process (colleagues can find it on the intrnaet by typing 'Type 5 stools' in the search tool) prior to requesting this.
