Evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert Clostridium difficile Epi Assay for Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile Infection and Typing of the NAP1 Strain at a Cancer Hospital

Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of health care-associated diarrhea. Accurate and rapid diagnosis is essential to improve patient outcome and prevent disease spread. We compared our two-step diagnostic algorithm, an enzyme immunoassay for glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) followed by the c...

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Published in:Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2010-12, Vol.48 (12), p.4519-4524
Main Authors: Babady, N. Esther, Stiles, Jeffrey, Ruggiero, Phyllis, Khosa, Perminder, Huang, David, Shuptar, Susan, Kamboj, Mini, Kiehn, Timothy E
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of health care-associated diarrhea. Accurate and rapid diagnosis is essential to improve patient outcome and prevent disease spread. We compared our two-step diagnostic algorithm, an enzyme immunoassay for glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) followed by the cytotoxin neutralization test (CYT) with a turnaround time of 24 to 48 h, versus the Cepheid Xpert C. difficile Epi assay, a PCR-based assay with a turnaround time of 90%). The excellent sensitivity and specificity and the rapid turnaround time of the Xpert PCR assay as well as its strain-typing capability make it an attractive option for diagnosis of C. difficile infection.
ISSN:0095-1137
1098-660X
DOI:10.1128/JCM.01648-10