title: Comparison of a commercial multiplex real-time PCR to the cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay for diagnosis of clostridium difficile infections.
abstract: A commercial multiplex real-time PCR assay (Cepheid Xpert C. difficile assay) for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection was evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of the Cepheid assay were 97.1% and 93.0% for fresh stools, using the cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay as the reference. Using PCR ribotyping as the reference for ribotype 027 strains, the corresponding figures were 100% and 98.1%, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, SE-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Haihui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weintraub
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Carl Erik
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Nord
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000633:toxicity*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D021521:Ribotyping; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic