Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of healthcare-associated infection worldwide.1
It is responsible for 15-25% of healthcare-associated diarrhea2 and can lead to life-threatening complications, such as pseudomembranous colitis and even death.
150,000+
Cases of new infection
8000
Estimated associated deaths
€3 billion
in additional healthcare costs
~500k
cases of new infections
29,000
Estimated associated deaths
€2.4 million
inpatient hospital days
€1.5-7m
in additional healthcare costs3
Although CDI is widely regarded as primarily a healthcare-associated infection, it is estimated that up to 1/3 of all cases are community-acquired in the United States.4
CDI cases have been on the rise over the last 20 years; cases of healthcare-associated CDI (HA-CDI) have increased 19.3-fold while cases of community-acquired CDI (CA-CDI) have increased 5.3-fold.5
Antibiotic use disrupts the normal intestinal flora. This provides an environment conductive for toxin-producing C. difficile to cause infection.
C. difficile has proven very difficult to manage and control due to the persistence of its spores in the environment and high transmissibility. In addition to transmission by symptomatic CDI patients, there are patients colonized with C. difficile who are often asymptomatic but can still transmit the infection to others.6
Further complicating efforts to manage CDI, the emergence of strains with increased virulence and resistance to antibiotic therapy in recent years has coincided with a rising incidence of infection and adverse outcomes.7
Researchers and public health specialists now recognize CDI as an emerging threat due to its increasing incidence, severity, and mortality.8
In order to combat the rising threat of C. difficile, accurate and timely diagnosis is essential to prompt earlier, appropriate treatment.
Rapid and accurate detection of C. difficile remains challenging as
traditional diagnostic methods have inherent limitations:
Algorithms have been developed using combinations of enzyme immunoassays to overcome shortcomings of individual assays.9 However, these algorithms are complex and may introduce delays in diagnosis.
Compared to traditional methods for identification of toxigenic C. difficile, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, offer improved:
With combined speed and accuracy, PCR testing for C. difficile aids in early, accurate diagnosis of CDI from symptomatic patients reducing the need for complex testing algorithms to initiate appropriate antibiotic treatment and to implement infection control measures that can minimize C. difficile transmission.
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