Laboratory Tests for the Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile Infections

Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated infectious diarrhea. For various reasons, the prevalence of C. difficile infection (CDI) has increased substantially in the last decade, and the clinical presentation and epidemiology of the disease appears to have changed. Combined, these factors have made the diagnosis of CDI a challenge for clinicians and microbiologists alike. In recent years, nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAATs) have become commercially available, and many laboratories have abandoned the traditional methods of enzyme immunoassay or culture for the diagnosis of C. difficile infections in favor of these newer methods. This review addresses the advantages and limitations of both the old and new techniques.