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Clostridium difficile in general practice and community health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

T. V. Riley ,
Valerie Wymer ,
V. W. Bamford  and
R. A. Bowman
T. V. Riley
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009
Valerie Wymer
Affiliation:
Public Health and Enteric Diseases Unit, State Health Laboratory Service, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009
V. W. Bamford
Affiliation:
Public Health and Enteric Diseases Unit, State Health Laboratory Service, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009
R. A. Bowman
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009
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Summary

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The isolation rate for Clostridium difficile in diarrhoeal stools was investigated in patients from general practice and community health centres over a 14-month period. C. difficile or its cytotoxin was detected in specimens from 89 (4·7 %) of 1882 patients studied and accounted for 30·3 % of all enteropathogenic micro-organisms isolated. Overall C. difficile was second only to Giandia lamblia in frequency. Recovery rates in the different groups of patients surveyed varied from 3·6 to 27·5 %. The relationship between stool culture results and stool cytotoxin assay also varied considerably between groups of patients studied. Coincident infections with a variety of enteropathogenic bacteria and intestinal parasites were diagnosed in 14 of the 89 patients. It was concluded that laboratories servicing this type of practice should be aware that C. difficile may be a cause of diarrhoea. An adequate clinical history should facilitate proper processing of the specimen.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 96 , Issue 1 , February 1986 , pp. 13 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

References

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