THE RIGHT TESTS AND WRONG TESTS FOR C DIFF INFECTIONS

Because Clostridium difficile (C diff) infections can look like or actually cause flare of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and because the C diff infection would be treated differently than a regular disease flare, it's important to recognize the symptoms and do the right tests in order to start the right treatment.

The WRONG Tests

Blood tests usually can show that you have an infection or inflammation causing your IBD symptoms, but they can't determine if C diff is the reason. 

Routine stool cultures search for certain bacteria in the intestine, but they are not able to not look for Clostridium difficile infections. 

Calprotectin is useful in showing inflammation or infection in the intestine but can't detect the cause.

The RIGHT Tests

C diff PCR tests recognize C diff DNA in the stool, showing that C diff is there. That can be evidence of an infection or simply that C diff is part of someone's microbiome.

C diff toxin looks for the A and B particles that actually cause the infections. It is the most specific test for C diff infections, but sometimes it needs to be repeated, because it may miss the toxins with a single test. 

Biopsies taken at the time of a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy can show the bacteria present as well as the damage or changes they may have caused in the large intestine.