Economic evaluation of laboratory testing strategies for hospital-associated Clostridium difficile infection.

ABSTRACT: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in health care settings, and for patients presumed to have CDI, their isolation while awaiting laboratory results is costly. Newer rapid tests for CDI may reduce this burden, but the economic consequences of different testing algorithms remain unexplored. We used decision analysis from the hospital perspective to compare multiple CDI testing algorithms for adult inpatients with suspected CDI, assuming patient management according to laboratory results. CDI testing strategies included combinations of on-demand PCR (odPCR), batch PCR, lateral-flow diagnostics, plate-reader enzyme immunoassay, and direct tissue culture cytotoxicity. In the reference scenario, algorithms incorporating rapid testing were cost-

SUBMITTER: Schroeder LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911327 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature