Abstract
Patients with diarrhea, defined as loose or watery stool, and two or more Clostridium difficile tcdB PCR tests within 14 days of each other were investigated. Repeat PCR for 293 patients with a prior negative result yielded negative results in 396 (97.5%) of 406 tests. Ten new positives were detected, including one false positive. Repeat PCR within 7 days appears rarely useful, except for patients with evidence of a new infection.
MeSH terms
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Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Bacterial Proteins / genetics
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Bacterial Toxins / genetics
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Bacteriological Techniques / methods*
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Child
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Child, Preschool
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Clostridioides difficile / genetics
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Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification*
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Clostridium Infections / diagnosis*
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Clostridium Infections / microbiology*
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Diarrhea / microbiology
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Humans
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Infant
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Middle Aged
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Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
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Predictive Value of Tests
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Young Adult
Substances
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Bacterial Proteins
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Bacterial Toxins
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toxB protein, Clostridium difficile