Letter

Community Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile infection

BMJ 2009; 338 doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2528 (Published 23 June 2009)
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2528

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  1. Mark H Wilcox, professor of medical microbiology1,
  2. Tim Planche, consultant in medical microbiology2
  1. 1Leeds Teaching Hospitals and University of Leeds, Microbiology, Old Medical School, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX
  2. 2St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, London SW17 0QT
  1. Mark.Wilcox{at}Leedsth.nhs.uk

    Rangaiah and colleagues comment that currently used tests for Clostridium difficile toxin are not very sensitive.1 However, the specificity of these commercial assays also ranges from 97% to 99%, meaning that approximately 1-2 out of every 10 positive results using these kits are incorrect.2 False positive results are even more likely when testing faecal …

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