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Comparative analysis reveals low sensitivity of NAAT for detecting C. difficile colonization with implications for hospital hygiene.
We compared rectal swab nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) with stool culture to detect Clostridioides difficile colonization and correlated results with environmental contamination. Rectal swab NAAT sensitivity (43%) for detecting toxigenic C. difficile colonization was low. Toxigenic culture-positive patients were more likely to have C. difficile detected in the hospital environment.
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Lee et al. (2026) studied this question.
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