title: Detection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in fecal samples by colony blot hybridization.
abstract: A hybridization assay for detection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in fecal samples was developed and compared with the classical tissue culture cytotoxicity assay. A DNA fragment probe specific for the toxin B gene of Clostridium difficile was synthesized by the polymerase chain reaction and labelled with digoxigenin. Fecal samples were cultured for 24 hours, replica-plated and hybridized with the probe. The hybridization assay had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 96.7%, positive predictive value of 86.7% and negative predictive value of 100% compared with the cytotoxicity assay.
authors.affiliation: Eijkman-Winkler Laboratory for Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wolfhagen
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Fluit
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jansze
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Rademaker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verhoef
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial