Name | Value |
---|---|
ABBREVIATION | C. diff |
NAME | Clostridium difficile |
DIVISION |
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DESCRIPTION | Clostridium difficile is a species of gram-positive bacteria. The disease presence of Clostridium difficile. Laboratory services are quite varied as to how they identify the presence of Clostridium difficile. Some labs are set up to identify C. difficile as the final microbiological (bacterial) etiology of a culture, even if a culture method was not used. Other labs use a final etiology of "see comment" and then enter the results in a free text format. Still others enter the text under a hematology or chemistry format where a reference range and "positive" and "negative" result values can be entered. Wherever the VHA Laboratory Service places the results, which are used to is associated with the presence of Clostridium difficile enterotoxin, demonstrate the presence of toxin-producing C. difficile, should be accessible as a standardized field in order to allow the MDRO Programs Tool software to capture its presence. NOTE: The purpose of adding Clostridium difficile to the MDRO Tools Lab Parameter Setup is to identify a patient's current or prior history of Clostridium difficile based on laboratory reporting and the time frames that are entered to search for the patient's status. The result must occur as a Clostridium difficile (a bacterial etiology) or as a retrievable "positive" result for a chemistry/serology laboratory test. which can cause significant morbidity, as well as mortality. It is of Any results contained in a "Free-Text" section will not allow incorporation of Clostridium difficile into the MDRO Program Tools software CDI Report format. Refer to the "VistA Lab Enhancements (VLE) - Microbiology User Guide" for instructions to configure the MDRO Tools Lab Parameter Setup to properly run the CDI Report. importance, as its predominant acquisition appears to occur nosocomially and is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Presence of clostridial toxin (either enterotoxin or cytotoxin L) by assay (whether it be EIA, latex agglutination, cytotoxicity of cell culture +neutralization, or culture of organism with subsequent colony testing) is the best indicator that an inflammatory diarrheal disease is due to |