Clostridium difficile and cytotoxin in routine faecal specimens.
Over a five-month period 1239 unselected, routine faecal specimens from 856 patients were examined for Clostridium difficile. One hundred specimens representing 69 patients were culture-positive. Toxin was detected in the stool of ten. During the study period, there were 41 Salmonella, 12 Campylobacter and 9 Shigella infections. C difficile was isolated together with Salmonella from 12 patients. No patient required specific treatment for C difficile infection. The significance of these findings is discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D003603:Cytotoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D005243:Feces / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged
D003603:Cytotoxins