C. difficile causes an inflammation of the colon that can lead to serious, life-threatening conditions, especially in immunocompromised or elderly patients.
C. difficile bacterial spores are resistant to heat, drying, many disinfectants and most antibiotics because antibiotics only inhibit actively growing bacteria. In a healthcare environment like a hospital or nursing home, C. difficile can be spread quickly through touching contaminated surfaces or by person-to-person contact.
The problem is so widespread, C. difficile infection (CDI) is linked to more than 30,000 deaths a year in the United States — rivaling the 32,000 killed in traffic accidents.1
C. difficile is the most common cause of Healthcare Associated Diarrhea in industrialized countries.2.
In Europe, the potential cost of CDI is estimated to be €3 billion per annum—and is expected to almost double over the next four decades.3
~63% of CDI cases are missed today because clinicians often fail to request tests for C. difficile toxins in cases of unexplained diarrhea.4
Find out why quickly and accurately determining the presence of C. difficile infection is important.
C. difficile toxins cause the disease symptoms. Only a test detecting active toxin production can help determine the course of treatment.
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Patients with C. difficile suffer from abdominal cramping, diarrhea, fever, mucus or blood in stool, and elevated white blood cell levels.
Despite these symptoms, half of all European hospitals screen for CDI only at the request of the physician.5 And even when hospitals do test for the infection, more than 50% are still not using the most accurate testing procedure.5
To identify the condition sooner — and stop it before it spreads — the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) have updated their guidelines on how to diagnose C. difficile.6 One of the major changes will be diagnosing C. difficile based on clinical signs and symptoms in combination with a lab test. Other key recommendations include:
ESCMID also recommended improved antibiotic stewardship, including education for all healthcare professionals, and national policies that promise continued surveillance prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CDI.
Get the complete diagnostic picture with just one test.
The C. DIFF QUIK CHEK COMPLETE® test is the only rapid cassette assay that simultaneously detects both glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) antigen and toxins A & B of C. difficile in less than 30 minutes. The test detects C. diff antigen, GDH, as a screen for the presence of C. diff and confirms the presence of toxigenic C. diff by detecting toxins A and B in fecal specimens.
The test gives results in less than 30 minutes.
Samples may be performed in batches or individually for on demand testing.
The test works with any specimen consistency and with samples stored in transport media such as Cary Blair or C&S.
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