Rapid diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea using a latex agglutination test.
A rapid latex agglutination test, Culturette Brand CDT from Marion Laboratories, was evaluated and compared to a tissue culture assay (TCA) and isolation of Clostridium difficile in 380 faecal specimens from 226 patients with clinically suspected Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea. The sensitivity and specificity of the latex test compared with the TCA were 83% and 80% respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 55% and 94% respectively. In patients with repeated sampling the sensitivity increased to 95%. The latex test may be useful as a screening test for negative specimens in laboratories where TCA is not available, but positive specimens have to be confirmed by TCA.
Jung
K
K
Department of Bacteriology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Sweden.
Aronsson
B
B
D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged