Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea.
- Author:
Doo Ryeon CHUNG
1
Author Information
1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Editorial
- Keywords:
Clostridium difficile;
Diarrhea;
Colitis;
Diagnosis;
Sigmoidoscopy
- MeSH:
Clostridium;
Clostridium difficile;
Colitis;
Cross Infection;
Diarrhea;
Early Diagnosis;
Immunoenzyme Techniques;
Sigmoidoscopy
- From:Korean Journal of Medicine
2010;78(3):316-317
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been one of common nosocomial infections associated with previous antibiotic use. Early diagnosis and adequate management of CDAD is necessary especially for severe cases, however, diagnosis has not been satisfactory. Cytotoxicity assay or toxigenic culture can be considered as a golden standard for diagnosis of CDAD, however, they are labor intensive and require a long time. Instead, a rapid enzyme immunoassay for toxin A and B has been widely utilized in most clinical laboratories. However, its low sensitivity has also been a limitation. Sigmoidoscopy can be helpful in a rapid diagnosis of CDAD for some cases which show negative results in enzyme immunoassay.
