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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Culturing and Maintaining Clostridium difficile in an Anaerobic Environment

Culturing and Maintaining Clostridium difficile in an Anaerobic Environment

Published on: September 14, 2013

Prevalence of Clostridium difficile on a mixed-function ward for the elderly.

O J Corrado¹, B H Mascie-Taylor, M J Hall

¹Department of Medicine (Elderly), St James's University Hospital, Leeds, U.K.

The Journal of Infection

|November 1, 1990

Summary

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) was not found to be endemic in geriatric patients, even with recent antibiotic use. This study suggests C. difficile prevalence may be lower than previously assumed in these settings.

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

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

Published on: June 15, 2018

Area of Science:

Geriatric Medicine
Infectious Diseases
Microbiology

Background:

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a significant cause of healthcare-associated infections.
Previous studies suggested C. difficile may be endemic in geriatric populations.
Geriatric wards often admit patients with acute illnesses or requiring rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the prevalence of Clostridium difficile colonization in patients on a mixed-function geriatric ward.
To assess the association between recent antibiotic exposure and C. difficile presence in this demographic.

Main Methods:

Prospective study conducted over two months on a geriatric ward.
Faecal samples were collected from 49 patients.
Patient data on length of stay and recent antibiotic use were recorded.

Main Results:

Clostridium difficile was isolated from only two (4%) of the 49 patients.
Seven patients (14%) were long-stay; the rest were admitted for acute care or rehabilitation.
Despite 69% of patients having received recent antibiotics, C. difficile isolation rate was low.

Conclusions:

Clostridium difficile is not necessarily endemic on all geriatric wards.
The low prevalence observed challenges previous assumptions about C. difficile in this setting.
Further research may be warranted to understand C. difficile epidemiology in diverse geriatric patient populations.