title: Evaluation of the rapid loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay Illumigene for diagnosis of Clostridium difficile in an outbreak situation.
abstract: An outbreak of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) at Höglandet Hospital Eksjö in southern Sweden in 2011 was mainly due to a multidrug-resistant PCR ribotype 046 (30% of all samples). Diagnostics used routinely was the Vidas CDAB assay, but to control the outbreak the rapid loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay Illumigene was introduced and both techniques were compared to Toxigenic culture (TC) prospectively. The LAMP assay had a superior sensitivity, that is, 98% compared to 79% for the Vidas CDAB assay. Most importantly, the mean turn-around-time from collecting sample to result was reduced from 59 h to 2 h enabling early isolation of patients and effective hygiene precautions. This may potentially decrease the morbidity and nosocomial transmissions of C. difficile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden.
authors.forename: Torbjörn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Norén
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Unemo
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Magnusson
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eiserman
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matussek
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D021521:Ribotyping / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Illumigene; LAMP; Vidas CDAB; diagnostics