Current knowledge on the laboratory diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection

Table 1 General recommendations for Clostridium difficile testing

Recommendation	Ref.
C. difficile testing is recommended only for stool samples from patients with diarrhea	[23,24]
The testing of asymptomatic patients is not recommended	[23]
Perirectal swabs are not accepted for C. difficile testing unless the patient has developed ileus	[23,24]
Repeated testing of C. difficile does not improve detection and does not change the result	[23,24]
Retesting, as a proof of cure, remains controversial	[23,24]

C. difficile: Clostridium difficile.