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Detailed information of CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS ENTERITIS
CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS ENTERITIS
DEFINITION:
A bacterial infection of the small intestine caused by C.
perfringens resulting in a secretory diarrhea.
EPIDEMIOLOGY:
- incidence: 1% of causes of diarrhea
- risk factors:
- age: all ages
- season: all seasons
- route: indirect: common cause of food poisoning
- environ: epidemics
- incubation period: 7-15 hours
PATHOGENESIS:
- Clostridium perfringens is a gram negative rod
- type A causes a mild and common form of food poisoning
- produce an enterotoxin:
- MW: 35,000 daltons
- resistent to trypsin digestion
- binds to a brush border membrane receptor -> disrupts
cell integrity -> cell death
2. C. Perfringens Food Poisoning
- "food poisoning follows the ingestion of contaiminated
cooked meats, poultry, stew, meat pies and gravies that have
undergone long periods of slow cooling and ambient temperature
storage which facilitates spore survival"
- contaminated foods contain at least 10 million organisms
which during intestinal passage proliferate and produce toxin
CLINICAL FEATURES:
- diarrhea (90%)
- abdominal cramps (80%)
- nausea/vomiting (15-25%)
- fever (25%)
- all resolve spontaneously in 6-24 hours
INVESTIGATIONS:
- culture - a million organisms/g of stool within 48 hrs of
onset
2. Serum
- serology - detection of enterotoxin by ELISA
MANAGEMENT:
- oral rehydration fluid (ORF) or IV rehydration
2. Medications
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Pediatric Database - CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS ENTERITIS
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