Letters
Community Clostridium difficile
Clostridium difficile infection
BMJ 2009; 338 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2528 (Published 23 June 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2528
- Mark H Wilcox, professor of medical microbiology1,
- Tim Planche, consultant in medical microbiology2
- 1Leeds Teaching Hospitals and University of Leeds, Microbiology, Old Medical School, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX
- 2St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, London SW17 0QT
- 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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