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Clostridioides difficile: new testing method helps to stop it in its tracks

A new method to detect Clostridioides difficile can yield accurate results in as little as 15 minutes, leading to faster clinical decision-making and improving case management. Here, Jürgen Becker describes how this innovative assay can be integrated into near-patient testing, and outlines the positive impact it could have on hospital workflows and patient care.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most common hospital-acquired illnesses that still frequently causes crippling disruption to bed management. Accurate diagnosis of the pathogen is essential for hospitals to be able to effectively identify and contain outbreaks as quickly as possible and minimise the impact on patient care. However, traditional tests have very
long turnaround times and low sensitivity, and they are often resource intensive. 

Infection by C. difficile is a public health concern that has gripped healthcare institutions in the UK and mainland Europe for decades. Over 14,000 cases of CDI were reported by NHS trusts in the UK between 2021 and 2022, showing a 14% increase from the previous year.1 Of these, a significant proportion is likely to be the result of healthcare-acquired infections,2 owing to the ability of C. difficile to quickly contaminate surfaces and transfer between patients. 

In hospitals, the organism is able to colonise and infect the most vulnerable of patients, leading to severe cases of bowel inflammation known as pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficile infection therefore carries significant risk for morbidity and a 30-day mortality rate as high as 38%.3 Considerable efforts have been made to explore the best options for effective infection control across the UK to help reduce the burden of C. difficile, and the identification of CDI in patients is a significant part of this. Rapid diagnosis would not only help to ensure prompt and appropriate therapeutic interventions, but could also guide isolation and infection control procedures to protect staff and vulnerable patients.

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