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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection
09:12

A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection

Published on: June 15, 2018

Limited clinical utility of Clostridium difficile toxin testing in infants in a pediatric hospital

Patrick Tang1, Margaret Roscoe, Susan E Richardson

  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, The University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G IL5, Canada.

Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
|June 21, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Clostridium difficile toxin (CDT) in infant stool does not indicate colitis. Viral causes are more common, suggesting other diagnoses should be considered first in infants with diarrhea.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Infants frequently carry toxin-producing Clostridium difficile asymptomatically.
  • Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a concern in pediatric diarrhea.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare clinical characteristics of infants with diarrhea and C. difficile toxin (CDT) versus those without CDT.
  • To evaluate the impact of metronidazole treatment in infants with CDT and diarrhea.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective case-control study.
  • Comparison of infants <1 year old with diarrhea and CDT to age-matched controls with diarrhea but no CDT.
  • Clinical data review including fever, vomiting, and hematochezia.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in clinical symptoms (fever, vomiting, hematochezia) between groups.
  • Metronidazole treatment showed no significant effect on clinical outcomes.
  • Alternative diarrhea etiologies, primarily viral, identified in over 50% of cases in both groups.

Conclusions:

  • Presence of CDT in infant stool does not reliably indicate C. difficile colitis.
  • Consideration of alternative etiologies, such as viral infections, is crucial before diagnosing C. difficile colitis in infants with diarrhea.

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