Background: Clostridium Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major contributor to the disease burden and death rates linked with healthcare-related diseases. C. diff may cause anything from symptom-free colonisation to the life-threatening conditions of toxic megacolon and fulminant colitis. The purpose of this research was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of PCR and toxigenic culture in identifying cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile infection. Components and technique: Eighty individuals with antibiotic-associated diarrhoea participated in this matched-pairs trial (AAD). Results from a PCR test looking for the tcdA and tcdB genes were compared with those from a Toxigenic Culture (TC) looking for toxigenic C. diff. The findings showed that 15% of the study's 80 individuals with diarrhoea tested positive for toxigenic culture, whereas the remaining 85% tested negative. About 40% (32 people) of the study's 80 people with diarrhoea tested positive for PCR, whereas 60% (48 people) tested negative. PCR had a perfect 100% sensitivity, 70% specificity, 61.5% PPV, and 100% NPV when used to diagnose a Cl difficile infection. Positive and negative PCR findings were statistically and clinically distinct. We find that PCR is a very sensitive approach (100% sensitivity) compared to TC in diagnosing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea due to C. difficle infection |
