title: Ultrasensitive Detection and Quantification of Toxins for Optimized Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile Infection.
abstract: Recently developed ultrasensitive and quantitative methods for detection of Clostridium difficile toxins provide new tools for diagnosis and, potentially, for management of C. difficile infection (CDI). Compared to methods that detect toxigenic organism, ultrasensitive toxin detection may allow diagnosis of CDI with increased clinical specificity, without sacrificing clinical sensitivity; measurement of toxin levels may also provide information relevant to disease prognosis. This minireview provides an overview of these new toxin detection technologies and considers what these new tools might add to the field.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA nira.pollock@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Nira R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Pollock
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000378:metabolism*; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004768:Enterotoxins