title: Impact of polymerase chain reaction testing on Clostridium difficile infection rates in an acute health care facility.
abstract: Two rapid methods of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) diagnosis were compared between June 2012 and March 2013: a GeneXpert (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, Calif) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The influence of these methods on the detection of hospital-acquired CDI and identification of CDI outbreaks was evaluated. We tested 1,592 stool samples for C difficile. The GeneXpert PCR test identified 211 positive samples (68 determined to be hospital-acquired infection), whereas EIA identified 105 positive samples (36 determined to be hospital-acquired infection). The GeneXpert PCR method in contrast to the EIA method increased the detection rates of nosocomial CDI cases and contributed to the declaration of CDI outbreaks.
authors: Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, Vaccine Development and Immunotherapy Research Program, Sudbury, ON, Canada; Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors: Yanal M
authors: YM
authors: Murad
authors: Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, Vaccine Development and Immunotherapy Research Program, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors: Justo
authors: J
authors: Perez
authors: Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, Vaccine Development and Immunotherapy Research Program, Sudbury, ON, Canada; Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Nokhbeh
authors: Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, Vaccine Development and Immunotherapy Research Program, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors: Gustavo
authors: G
authors: Ybazeta
authors: Health Sciences North, Prevention and Control Program. Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors: Brenda
authors: B
authors: Dewar
authors: Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, Vaccine Development and Immunotherapy Research Program, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
authors: Sebastien
authors: S
authors: Lefebvre
authors: Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada, Vaccine Development and Immunotherapy Research Program, Sudbury, ON, Canada; Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, Sudbury, ON, Canada. Electronic address: fdiazmitoma@amric.ca.
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Diaz-Mitoma
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006268:Health Facilities; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Outbreak; PCR testing