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.
Department of Bacteriology, Stockholm County Council Central Microbiological Laboratory, Sweden.
K
K
Jung
B
B
Aronsson
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