1.1 Condition: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). A diagnosis of CDI implies: a) laboratory detection of C. difficile toxins and/or toxigenic C. difficile in faeces, rectal swab or bowel contents PLUS b) relevant clinical manifestations: diarrhoea (usually defined as 3 or more loose stools in a 24 hour period) or, less commonly, ileus, toxic megacolon or pseudomembranous colitis (identified...

The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 78 strains of Clostridium difficile isolated from patients with and without gastrointestinal symptoms were determined and compared. Strains from patients with symptoms were more likely to show resistance to antibiotics. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains were found to be similar.

conclusions the results of pcr-ribotyping indicate that no relationship exists between clinical and meat isolates. we therefore conclude that other sources than meat may function as a vector for ca-cdi. results the overall prevalence of c. difficile with two toxigenic genes including tcda and tcdb was estimated at 4.0%. c. difficile was detected in 2.8%, 2.1%, 3.6% and 6.2% of chopped beef, gro...

Clostridium difficile, an anaerobic toxigenic bacterium, causes a severe infectious colitis that leads to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Both enhanced bacterial toxins and diminished host immune response contribute to symptomatic disease. C. difficile has been a well-established pathogen in North America and Europe for decades, but is just emerging in Asia. This article reviews ...

We evaluated a three-step algorithm for laboratory diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD). First, stool specimens were screened using an EIA test for glutamate dehydrogenase detection. Screen-positive specimens were tested by a rapid cytotoxintoxin A/B assay and subjected to stool culture. All cultures positive for C. difficile underwent toxigenic culture. The results sh...

INTRODUCTION We investigated the changing trend of various toxigenic Clostridium difficile isolates at a 3 500-bed hospital in Taiwan. Genetic relatedness and antimicrobial susceptibility of toxigenic C. difficile isolates were also examined. METHODS A total of 110 non-repeat toxigenic C. difficile isolates from different patients were collected between 2002 and 2007. Characterization of the ...

We evaluated toxigenic Clostridium difficile detection by a lateral flow assay for antigen and toxin, an enzyme immunoassay, and two commercial PCR methods. Compared to the cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay and toxigenic culture, both toxin detection methods lacked sensitivity. PCR following combined antigen and toxin detection provided the most useful diagnostic information.

Infection with Clostridium difficile is a growing concern because of the increasing prevalence and spread of nosocomial infections. Emergence of the hypervirulent 027/NAP1/BI strain is also notable. Existing diagnostic methods have low sensitivity or are time-consuming. Therefore, establishing a rapid and accurate microbiological diagnostic assay is needed. We evaluated the Xpert C. difficile a...

In this study, clinical and laboratory findings were tested for correlation with the presence of Clostridium difficile. The toxigenicity of the isolated strains and the toxins were determined in faecal samples of immunocompromised children admitted to a single room for protective isolation. Using the toxin assay as the gold standard, the culture sensitivity of toxigenic C difficile was 94.1%, t...

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to evaluate the faecal occurrence and characterization of Clostridium difficile in clinically healthy dogs (N = 50) and in dogs with diarrhea (N = 20) in the Stockholm-Uppsala region of Sweden. FINDINGS Clostridium difficile was isolated from 2/50 healthy dogs and from 2/20 diarrheic dogs. Isolates from healthy dogs were negative for toxin A and B and for t...