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Comparative Study
. 2008 Nov;46(11):3833-5.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.01060-08. Epub 2008 Sep 10.

Comparison of three commercial methods for rapid detection of Clostridium difficile toxins A and B from fecal specimens

L Alcalá  1 , L Sánchez-Cambronero, M P Catalán, M Sánchez-Somolinos, M T Peláez, M Marín, E Bouza
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of three commercial methods for rapid detection of Clostridium difficile toxins A and B from fecal specimens

L Alcalá et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Three rapid enzyme immunoassays (X/pect Clostridium difficile Toxin A/B test, Wampole Tox A/B Quik Chek, and ImmunoCard Toxins A&B) were compared for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection. Of the 367 stool specimens tested, 102 (27.8%) were positive for toxigenic C. difficile when a combination of direct cytotoxicity assay and cytotoxic culture was used as the gold standard. Sensitivity/specificity values were 49.0%/95.8%, 54.9%/95.5%, and 66.7%/95.1%, respectively. The median times to test five stool specimens were 28, 30, and 24 min, respectively. The ImmunoCard test was the quickest and most sensitive test of the three enzyme immunoassays evaluated.

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