Effect of adding sodium taurocholate to selective media on the recovery of Clostridium difficile from environmental surfaces

The recovery of Clostridium difficile on a medium containing cefoxitin, cycloserine, fructose, and egg yolk was compared with that on media containing one of three preparations of sodium taurocholate. In aerobic environments contaminated with C. difficile, media containing either crude taurocholate from Mann Research Laboratories, New York, N.Y., or pure taurocholate from Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo., recovered organisms significantly more often than did cefoxitin-cycloserine-fructose-egg yolk agar.