ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a tertiary referral hospital in England that was found to have an unexpectedly high rate of Clostridium difficile infection. It provides a discussion on clinical management, prevention, epidemiology, biology, and pathology of this case. Diagnosis of Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI) is made by the combination of a compatible clinical picture with fecal tests that demonstrate the presence of the organism and toxin production. A case of CDI was defined as a positive stool glutamate dehydrogenase enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) result and a positive stool toxin EIA result, in accordance with national guidance for C. difficile testing. C. difficile is ubiquitous in the environment and toxigenic strains known to cause human disease have been isolated from water sources, domestic animals and those raised for food, and food products of both meat and vegetable.
