Prospective Review of Clostridioides difficile Testing Indications to Inform Local Laboratory Stewardship Initiatives

Noah Reich; Michael Payne; Azra Sharma; Sylvie Champagne; Marc G. Romney; Michelle Hinch; Victor Leung; Christopher F. Lowe

Infection Prevention in Practice (Jun 2019)

Prospective Review of Clostridioides difficile Testing Indications to Inform Local Laboratory Stewardship Initiatives

Noah Reich,
Michael Payne,
Azra Sharma,
Sylvie Champagne,
Marc G. Romney,
Michelle Hinch,
Victor Leung,
Christopher F. Lowe

Affiliations

Noah Reich: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada
Michael Payne: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada; Division of Medical Microbiology, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Infection Prevention and Control, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Azra Sharma: Infection Prevention and Control, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Sylvie Champagne: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada; Division of Medical Microbiology, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Marc G. Romney: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada; Division of Medical Microbiology, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Michelle Hinch: Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Victor Leung: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada; Division of Medical Microbiology, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Infection Prevention and Control, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Christopher F. Lowe: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada; Division of Medical Microbiology, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Infection Prevention and Control, Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Corresponding author. Christopher Lowe, MD, FRCPC, St. Paul's Hospital, Virology Laboratory, 1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, V6Z 1Y6 BC, Canada. Tel.: +604 806 8422.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1, no. 2

Abstract

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Summary: We conducted a prospective chart review to determine the prevalence of and reasons for inappropriate Clostridioides difficile test-ordering at a tertiary care hospital. Inappropriate orders accounted for 54% of all tests. The two primary aetiologies of inappropriate test-ordering were an alternative reason for diarrhoea (34%) and an asymptomatic patient (20%). These results highlight the need to focus diagnostic stewardship of C. difficile testing on pre-analytical factors. Keywords: Clostridioides difficile, Infections, Diagnostic Stewardship, Pre-analytical, Laxative

Published in Infection Prevention in Practice

ISSN: 2590-0889 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Infectious and parasitic diseases; Medicine: Public aspects of medicine
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/infection-prevention-in-practice

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