Hospitals that switched Clostridium difficile testing from nonmolecular to molecular methods recorded a 56 percent increase in recorded C. diff cases after the change, according to an article published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Researchers examined C. diff rates among hospitals in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network before and after a switch from nonmolecular testing to polymerase chain reaction.
Hospitals switching to PCR experienced a jump in C. diff infections from six per 10,000 patient days to 9.6 per 10,000 patient days.
Researchers concluded that improved C. diff testing may contribute to increases in reported C. diff infections, though how exactly testing relates to epidemiological tracking of the bacteria is unclear.
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