title: Pitfalls in Diagnosis of Pediatric Clostridium difficile Infection.
abstract: The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has risen among children and C difficile is increasingly recognized as an important cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea among pediatric patients. Still, increased identification of CDI in healthy children in the community and increased testing among infants requires cautious interpretation, given the high prevalence of asymptomatic colonization in young infants and frequent detection of viruses and other co-pathogens in stool specimens in these age groups. The significance of CDI among infants and the implications of positive C difficile testing among healthy children in the community are areas in need of further study.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Infection Prevention and Control, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: sammonsj@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Julia S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sammons
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Toltzis
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Diagnosis; Diarrhea; Pediatrics