Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that is a "common inhabitant of the colon flora in human infants and sometimes in adults. It produces a toxin that causes pseudomembranous enterocolitis in patients receiving antibiotic therapy."

Diagnosis
A clinical prediction rule can help determine which patients are likely to have a cytotoxin assay result. This rule found that patients without "prior antibiotic use and either significant diarrhea or abdominal pain are unlikely to have positive C difficile cytotoxin assay results."