C.Diff (see Clostridium Difficile Toxin Test)

Clostridium difficile toxin test

C.diff

Microbiology

CDT

Feaces

Sterile Container

Have patient passed unformed stool directly into a clean, dry container. Send a minimum of 2 mL.

Formed stools are unacceptable and will not be processed.

C. difficile test is performed daily.

Positive: the patient has C.difficile. Do not repeat tests to look for cure in C.difficile. The patient's response is the best marker of cure. samples submitted with 14 days from a positive will be rejected.

Negative: the patient is very unlikely to have C.difficile, only a single test is required. If negative, then a repeat should not be performed within the next 7 days.

Indeterminate- there may be interfering substances in the stool. A single repeat submission will be accepted for testing. If indeterminate again, then the clinician must decide on the likelihood of C.difficile infection and whether to treat.

Final:

12 hours (specimen received in the lab between 07:00hrs - 18:00hrs on weekdays and 07:00hrs - 15:00hrs on weekend and STAT holidays)

24 hours (specimen received in the lab between 18:01hrs - 07:00hrs on weekdays and 15:01hrs - 07:00hrs on weekends and STAT  holidays)

If a C.difficile toxin is performed and a positive sample is detected, this information is made available to the health care provider immediately.

All stool samples must be mixed thoroughly, regardless of consistency to ensure that a representative sample is processed during testing.

Note: Children may carry C.difficile asymptomatically. Presence of this organism or its toxin may not be diagnostic of infection.

Specimen should be transported as soon as possible to the laboratory.

Specimens are maintained in the refrigerator prior to testing no longer than 24hours.

In house, BGH laboratory