Signs and Symptoms
In adults, a clinical prediction rule found the best signs to be: significant diarrhea ("new onset of more than three partially formed or watery stools per 24 hour period"), recent antibiotic exposure, abdominal pain, fever (up to 40.5°C), and a distinctive foul stool odour. In a population of hospitalized patients, prior antibiotic treatment plus diarrhea or abdominal pain had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 45%. In this study with a prevalence of positive cytotoxin assays of 14%, the positive predictive value was 20% and the negative predictive value was 95%.
Read more about this topic: Clostridium Difficile
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