Lactoferrin testing gives insight into C. difficile, which is an infection that most commonly occurs in hospitals and other healthcare settings, like nursing homes. It spreads rapidly, and symptoms include watery diarrhea, fever, appetite loss, and abdominal pain.
C. DIFFICILE
Suspected C. difficile patient
Detecting elevated lactoferrin levels can help to confirm the diagnosis of true CDI.
Toxins A and B are the primary diagnostic targets for C. difficile infection, and both toxins elicit a strong leukocyte response during infection. Elevated lactoferrin is a biomarker for fecal leukocytes and an indicator of intestinal inflammation. Knowing whether a patient has intestinal inflammation, therefore, can be useful when assessing for true C. difficile infection.
Diagnosed C. difficile patient
Measuring lactoferrin levels can help to indicate the degree of CDI severity.
C. difficile disease presents a range of severity levels, from mild to severe. Treatment usually includes metronidazole for mild cases, and vancomycin, fidaxomicin and fecal microbiome transplant (FMT) for more severe cases. Stratifying patients for disease severity can be difficult in elderly patients who have comorbid disease.
Studies have shown that more severe disease includes:
- higher WBC counts,
- low serum albumin, and
- higher lactoferrin levels.
Lactoferrin levels can help determine severity of disease for targeting and optimizing treatment.
C. DIFF QUIK CHEK COMPLETE® plus lactoferrin testing for more effective CDI treatment.
Introducing a comprehensive algorithm for C. difficile testing
Clostridioides difficile (formerly Clostridium) infection involves a range of clinical presentations—from mild, self-limiting diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis and megacolon. Moderate to severe CDI cases require early identification for better outcomes and decreased mortality, especially among the elderly.
Confirm CDI and reveal the severity of infection
Studies support the routine determination of both the presence of stool toxin and the degree of intestinal inflammation as an indicator of disease severity in CDI patients.
Adding lactoferrin testing for intestinal inflammation to C. DIFF QUIK CHEK COMPLETE® testing for stool toxin provides a comprehensive algorithm for assessing CDI. Together, these tests quickly, easily, and non-invasively confirm true CDI and reveal the severity of infection, enabling clinicians to better manage their most vulnerable CDI patients.
How severe is your patient’s C. diff. infection?
Clostridium difficile infection can present clinically from mild, self-limiting diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis and megacolon. Studies support the routine determination of both the presence of stool toxin and the degree of intestinal inflammation (using lactoferrin testing) as an indicator of disease severity.