Clostridium difficile dehydrogenase and toxin as a biomarker for monitoring infection in patients with clostridium difficile disease and differentiating carrier state from active disease

Abstract

disease involves a range of clinical presentations ranging from carrier status with other causes of symptoms to mild and self-limiting diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis and megacolon. Cases ofare treated differently depending on the presence and then the severity of disease. Patients that are carriers may not receive treatment with concern of causing the disease. Mild to moderate cases may be treated with metronidazole while severe and relapsing cases are often treated with vancomycin or fidaxomicin. Current molecular assays are highly sensitive for detecting toxigenicand cannot rule out carrier status. Utilization of a biomarker panel that includesantigen (GDH), toxins A and B, and fecal lactoferrin allows clinicians to differentiate between a carrier state and active state ofand allows for monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.