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Comparative Study of Clostridium difficile Clinical Detection Methods in Patients with Diarrhoea. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY 2020; 2020:8753284. [PMID: 32064010 PMCID: PMC6996696 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8753284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical application of three methods for detecting Clostridium difficile in fecal samples. Methods One hundred and fifty fecal specimens were collected and tested for C. difficile using three methods: (1) the toxigenic culture (TC); (2) the VIDAS enzyme immunoassay (EIA): the VIDAS glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) assay and toxin A/B assay were used to detect GDH antigen and A/B toxin; and (3) the GeneXpert PCR assay. The toxigenic culture was used as a reference to evaluate the performance of the VIDAS EIA and the GeneXpert PCR assay. Results Of 150 specimens, 26 carried both A and B toxin genes, and none of the samples were positive for the binary toxin gene. Toxin-producing C. difficile using three methods: (1) the toxigenic culture (TC); (2) the VIDAS enzyme immunoassay (EIA): the VIDAS glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) assay and toxin A/B assay were used to detect GDH antigen and A/B toxin; and (3) the GeneXpert PCR assay. The toxigenic culture was used as a reference to evaluate the performance of the VIDAS EIA and the GeneXpert PCR assay. C. difficile using three methods: (1) the toxigenic culture (TC); (2) the VIDAS enzyme immunoassay (EIA): the VIDAS glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) assay and toxin A/B assay were used to detect GDH antigen and A/B toxin; and (3) the GeneXpert PCR assay. The toxigenic culture was used as a reference to evaluate the performance of the VIDAS EIA and the GeneXpert PCR assay. Conclusion The VIDAS GDH assay is useful for initial screening of C. difficile using three methods: (1) the toxigenic culture (TC); (2) the VIDAS enzyme immunoassay (EIA): the VIDAS glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) assay and toxin A/B assay were used to detect GDH antigen and A/B toxin; and (3) the GeneXpert PCR assay. The toxigenic culture was used as a reference to evaluate the performance of the VIDAS EIA and the GeneXpert PCR assay.
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Blanco N, Walk S, Malani AN, Rickard A, Benn M, Eisenberg M, Zhang M, Foxman B. Clostridium difficile shows no trade-off between toxin and spore production within the human host. J Med Microbiol 2018. [PMID: 29533173 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.000719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to describe the correlation between Clostridium difficile spore and toxin levels within the human host. In addition, we assessed whether overgrowth of Candida albicans modified this association. METHODOLOGY We measured toxin, spore and Candida albicans levels among 200 successively collected stool samples that tested positive for C. difficile, and PCR ribotyped these C. difficile isolates. Analysis of variance and linear regression were used to test the association between spore and toxin levels. Kruskal-Wallis tests and t-tests were used to compare the association between spore or toxin levels and host, specimen, or pathogen characteristics. RESULTS C. difficile toxin and spore levels were positively associated (P<0.001); this association did not vary significantly with C. albicans overgrowth [≥5 logs of C. albicans colony-forming units (c.f.u.) g-1]. However, ribotypes 027 and 078-126 were significantly associated with higher levels of toxin and spores, and C. albicans overgrowth. CONCLUSION The strong positive association observed between in vivo levels of C. difficile toxin and spores suggests that patients with more severe C. difficile infections may have increased spore production, enhancing C. difficile transmission. Although, on average, spore levels were higher in toxin-positive samples than in toxin-negative/PCR-positive samples, spores were found in almost all toxin-negative samples. The ubiquity of spore production among toxin-negative and formed stool samples emphasizes the importance of following infection prevention and control measures for all C. difficile-positive patients during their entire hospital stay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Blanco
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Seth Walk
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Letters & Science, Montana State, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Anurag N Malani
- Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, St Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Alexander Rickard
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Michele Benn
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology Laboratory, St Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Marisa Eisenberg
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Min Zhang
- Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, St Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Betsy Foxman
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Abstract
The best laboratory diagnostic approach to detect Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the subject of ongoing debate. In the United States, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) have become the most widely used tests for making this diagnosis. Detection of toxin in stool may be a better predictor of CDI disease and severity. Laboratories that have switched from toxin-based to NAAT-based methods have significantly higher CDI detection rates. The important issue is whether all NAAT-positive patients have CDI or at least some of those patients are excretors of the organism and do not have clinical disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter H Gilligan
- Clinical Microbiology-Immunology Laboratories, Microbiology-Immunology, UNC Health Care, UNC School of Medicine, CB 7600, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA; Pathology-Laboratory Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, CB 7600, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA.
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