Keywords

Probiotics, long term care, antibiotic associated diarrhea, clostridium difficile, geriatrics.

Abstract

Problem/Purpose: Antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) and clostridium-difficile diarrhea (CDAD) are the most common forms of infectious diarrhea in long-term care facilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of probiotics in preventing AAD and CDAD in the long term care geriatric population, and to identify interventions that can be used to improve clinical practice. Background/Significance: Prophylactic use of probiotics have been purported to decrease the incidences of AAD and CDAD. Previous studies have yielded contradictory results on the efficacy of probiotics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of administration of probiotics on the rate of infectious diarrhea in the Long Term Care (LTC) population Method: This was a retrospective cohort study. The charts of residents of a LTC facility who were 65 years of age and older, and were administered antibiotic therapies, with or without co-administration of probiotics were reviewed. A data collection instrument was created for this study and piloted prior to its utilization. A chi-square test of independence was calculated to obtain the results. Results: Forty-four residents received probiotics with antibiotics, five cases of diarrhea were reported; no cases of CDAD were reported. In 39 residents who received antibiotics without probiotics, two cases of diarrhea and one case of CDAD were reported. Conclusion: The study showed no statistically significant evidence to support the effectiveness of probiotic use in the prevention of AAD and CDAD in a long term care facility. The incidence of AAD was higher in the group with probiotics

Notes

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Graduation Date

2010

Advisor

Wink, Diane

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.)

College

College of Nursing

Department

Nursing

Degree Program

Nursing Practice

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0003281

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003281

Language

English

Release Date

August 2010

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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Included in

Nursing Commons

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