title: Development and evaluation of a PCR method for detection of the Clostridium difficile toxin B gene in stool specimens.
abstract: A PCR assay detecting Clostridium difficile toxin B gene in stool specimens was compared to the cytotoxicity assay as the reference standard for the diagnosis of C. difficile antibiotic-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Overall, 118 stool samples were tested. All of the specimens that were negative by the cytotoxicity assay (59 out of 118) were also negative by the PCR method (specificity of 100%). Of the 59 cytotoxin-positive samples, 54 were PCR positive (sensitivity of 91.5%). This PCR method is promising for rapid diagnosis of CDAD.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guilbault
authors.forename: A-C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Labbé
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Busque
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Béliveau
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laverdière
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000633:toxicity; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; C031815:toxB protein, Clostridium difficile