title: Polymerase chain reaction assay to detect Clostridium difficile tcdC variants is valuable in characterizing hospital epidemiology.
abstract: The epidemiology of nosocomial Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), acquired at two hospitals in Vancouver over a one-year period, was reviewed. Cases were analysed by tcdC polymerase chain reaction, with tcdC variants (18 base pair deletion) highly associated with the NAP1 strain. Of the 214 cases identified, 51.9% were caused by these tcdC variants; these cases occurred more frequently in older patients admitted to the community hospital where the strain was endemic. Overall, at least five out of 24 cases classified as recurrences by surveillance definitions were reinfections. Molecular testing allowed identification of major epidemiological differences between the hospitals studied and provided more accurate classification of CDI cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilmer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lloyd-Smith
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Champagne
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Romney
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C105615:TcdC protein, Clostridium difficile