Description
Cell cytotoxicity test is a tissue culture to detect the C. difficile toxin. It is a test that looks for the effects of the cytotoxin (cytotoxicity) on human cells grown in culture. It is a sensitive method to detect toxin, but it requires 24 to 48 hours to get the test result.
Clostridium difficile Cytotoxicity Assay - Clostridium difficile is a spore-forming bacteria that is part of the normal intestinal flora. With intestinal overgrowth, c. Difficile is the major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. C. Difficile is the primary cause of pseudomembranous colitis. The organism produces cytotoxins that lead to frequent, foul-smelling, watery stools.
When a person has mild, moderate, or severe diarrhea that persists for several days, without another explanation, especially in people who have recently been on antibiotic therapy.Clostridium difficile (commonly called C. difficile or C. diff) is a type of bacteria that is associated with diarrhea resulting from antibiotic use. C. difficile testing and C. difficile toxin tests identify the presence of these bacteria, genes associated with toxin production, and/or detect the toxins produced by them.
Clostridium difficile has been recently reclassified and renamed as Clostridioides difficile, but since many people still use the former name, it will be used for the purposes of this article.C. difficile may be present as part of the normal bacterial flora in the digestive tract of up to 65% of healthy infants and 3% of healthy adults. Sometimes, when broad-spectrum antibiotics are used to treat other infections, typically for an extended period, the balance of the normal flora in the digestive tract is disrupted. Normal bacterial flora that are susceptible to the antibiotic are eliminated from the digestive tract, while C. difficile that are resistant to the antibiotic remain and begin to overgrow, or new types (strains) of C. difficile are acquired.
