Warning Signs Of A C. Difficile Infection

Kidney Failure

An individual affected by a C. difficile infection can lose a good amount of their blood volume because they are having between ten and fifteen episodes of diarrhea per day. The volume of the blood can become too low for the heart to compensate. When this happens, the blood cannot reach all parts of the body to provide the tissues with oxygen and other nutrients. The kidneys are one part of the body commonly affected by ischemia or lack of blood flow because of a hypovolemic state. This is a blood volume that is too low. The tissues of the kidney can become severely damaged and do not function properly when they do not receive enough oxygenated blood. When the kidneys are unable to filter the blood at an adequate rate or have lost at least half of their functionality, the individual is in kidney failure. Persistent and excessive diarrhea causes an individual with a C. difficile infection to develop sudden or acute kidney failure or injury. Depending on the extent of the kidney damage, it may be able to be reversed.

Increased White Blood Cell Count

An individual with a digestive tract infection caused by the colonization of C. difficile bacteria may experience an increased white blood cell count. Leukocytes, white blood cells, are an essential part of the immune system and make up approximately one percent of all blood cells. The total white blood cell count is increased in over half of all individuals diagnosed with a C. difficile infection. Several different types of white blood cells make up the immune system. They include monocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils. Individuals with a C. difficile infection usually present with an elevated white blood cell count because of an increase in the number of neutrophils in their blood. Any individual who presents with other symptoms of a C. difficile infection along with a white blood cell count between 15,000 and 20,000 per cubic millimeter is suspected of having this infection.