Evaluation of two rapid immunochromatography tests for the detection of Clostridium difficile toxins

The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of two rapid immunochromatography tests, the Tox A/B Quick Chek (TechLab) and the ImmunoCard Toxins A&B test (Meridian), in addition to the older Tox A/B ELISA, against PCR detection of the tcdB gene. Two hundred patient-unique stool specimens were tested. In comparison to the polymerase chain reaction results, the sensitivity and specificity of the two rapid tests were 94.7% and 97.2%, respectively; corresponding values for the ELISA were 93.6% and 94.3%. Findings on the rapid tests showed a 96% correlation with polymerase chain reaction assay and a 94% correlation with ELISA. Considering the importance of early and appropriate diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, rapid immunochromatography tests may be of great benefit to practitioners.