Dr. Lee was born in Shanghai, China, and received his college and medical training in the United States. He is fluent in English and three Chinese dialects. He graduated with chemistry departmental honors from Harvey Mudd College. He was appointed president of AOA society at UCLA School of Medicine. He underwent internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
C. difficile spores lie dormant inside the colon until a person takes an
antibiotic. The antibiotic disrupts the other bacteria that normally are living
in the colon and preventing C. difficile from transforming into its active,
disease causing bacterial form. As a result, C. difficile transforms into its
infectious form and then produces toxins (chemicals) that inflame and damage the
colon. The inflammation results in an influx of white blood cells to the colon.
The severity of the colitis can vary. In the more severe cases, the toxins kill
the tissue of the inner lining of the colon, and the tissue falls off. The
tissue that falls off is mixed with white blood cells (pus) and gives the
appearance of a white, membranous patch covering the inner lining of the colon.
This severe form of C. difficile colitis is called pseudomembranous colitis
because the patches appear like membranes, but they are not true membranes.
Not everybody infected with C. difficile develops colitis. Many infants and
young children, and even some adults, are carriers (they are infected but have
no symptoms) of C. difficile. C. difficile does not cause colitis in these
people probably because;
the bacteria stay in the colon as non-active spores,
and
the individuals have developed antibodies that protect them against the
C. difficile toxins.
Severe diarrhea also can lead to
dehydration and disturbances in the electrolytes (minerals) in the body. Rarely,
severe colitis can lead to life-threatening complications such as megacolon
(markedly dilated colon), peritonitis (inflammation of the lining of the
abdominal), and perforation of the colon.
Clostridium Difficile Colitis - How Was Diagnosis EstablishedQuestion: What kinds of treatments have been effective for your clostridium difficile colitis (antibiotic-associated colitis, c. difficile colitis)?
Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
Diarrhea is a change is the frequency and looseness of bowel movements. Cramping, abdominal pain, and the sensation of rectal urgency are all symptoms of diarrhea. Absorbents and anti-motility medications are used to treat diarrhea.
Dehydration is the excessive loss of body water. There are a number of causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise, and some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The best way to treat dehydration is to prevent it from occurring.
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease,
primarily involving the small and large intestine, but which can
affect other parts of the digestive system as well. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss are
common symptoms.
Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammation of the colon. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding. Ulcerative colitis is closely related to Crohn's disease, and together they are referred to as inflammatory bowel disease. Treatment depends upon the type of ulcerative colitis diagnosed.
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
Stool color is generally brown. When stool color changes, often, an individual becomes concerned. The presence of the bilirubin in bile is generally responsible for stool color. Bilirubin concentration can vary bile color from light yellow to almost black in color. Changes in bilirubin can cause stool to turn green, gray, or clay-like in color. Intestinal bleeding may turn stool black, tarry, red, maroon, or smelly stool. Medication and food may also affect stool color.
Inflammation of the inner lining of the colon is referred to as colitis. Symptoms of the inflammation of the colon lining include diarrhea, pain, and blood in the stool. There are several causes of colitis including infection, ischemia of the colon, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, Ulcerative colitis, or microscopic colitis). Treatment depends on the cause of the colitis.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
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