Clostridium difficile
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Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that is a "common inhabitant of the colon flora in human infants and sometimes in adults. It produces a toxin that causes pseudomembranous enterocolitis in patients receiving antibiotic therapy."[1]
Diagnosis
A clinical prediction rule can help determine which patients are likely to have a cytotoxin assay result.[2] This rule found that patients without "prior antibiotic use and either significant diarrhea or abdominal pain are unlikely to have positive C difficile cytotoxin assay results."[2]
References
- ↑ Anonymous (2024), term (English). Medical Subject Headings. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Katz DA, Lynch ME, Littenberg B (1996). "Clinical prediction rules to optimize cytotoxin testing for Clostridium difficile in hospitalized patients with diarrhea". Am. J. Med. 100 (5): 487–95. PMID 8644759. [e]