Targeted Screening for C difficile Upon Admission Could Potentially Identify Most Colonized Patients

Testing patients with just three risk factors upon hospital admission has potential to identify nearly 3 out of 4 asymptomatic carriers of C. difficile, according to a new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN analyzed stool samples from 320 patients showing no symptoms of C. difficile at hospital admission using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Samples from 31 of 320 patients tested positive for C. difficile, resulting in a colonization rate of 9.7 percent. The authors wanted to estimate the reservoir of colonized patients as a source of potential transmission because despite rigorous infection control measures, C. difficile infection was increasing at their institution.
 
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Targeted Screening for C difficile Upon Admission Could Potentially Identify Most Colonized Patients

Source: ICT

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