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. 2009 Apr 7;15(13):1554–1580. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.1554

Table 2.

Laboratory diagnosis of C. difficile

Test Sensitivity (%) Specificity (%) PPV NPV
Enzyme immunoassay 73 98 73 98
Real-time PCR 93 97 76 99
Cell culture assay 77 97 70 98
Anaerobic culture for toxigenic C. difficile strains 100 96 68 100

Peterson LR, Manson RU, Paule SM, Hacek DM, Robicsek A, Thomson RB Jr, Kaul KL. Detection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in stool samples by real-time polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of C. difficile-associated diarrhea. Clin Infect Dis 2007; 45(9): 1152-1160.