frequency of clostridium difficile among patients with gastrointestinal complaints

aim : in this study, the prevalence of c. difficile , from patients with gastrointestinal complaints and its association with other enteropathogen microbes were investigated. background : clostridium difficile is an important pathogen associated with outbreaks of pseudomembranous colitis and other intestinal disorders, such as diarrhea. patients and methods : enterotoxin and cytotoxin (toxin a and toxin b) of c. difficile on the patient's stool samples were detected by a double sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay technique using a commercial kit (premier toxins a & b; generic assays, inc., germany). the microbial isolation and examination was done, according to the standard identification methods. results : out of 356 individuals (57.6 % male and 42.4 % female) the results of c. difficile were positive for 19 patients (5.3 %) and negative for 337 patients (94.6 %) according to the results of c. difficile antigen kit. there was no association between the existence of c. difficile toxin and microbial population or antibiotic usage. conclusion : this prevalence study clearly supports the hypothesis of a probable role of c.difficile in developing gastrointestinal complaints in patients with diarrhea. more studies are needed to evaluate the role of c. difficile in these diseases.