Polymerase Chain Reaction Test for <i>Clostridium difficile</i> Toxin B Gene Reveals Similar Prevalence Rates in Children With and Without Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Positive C difficile PCR results occur with similar frequency in patients with IBD with and without active disease and in patients with other gastrointestinal diseases. A positive result in a highly sensitive PCR assay that detects low copy numbers of a toxin gene in C difficile may reflect colonization in a subset of patients with IBD, confounding clinical decision making in managing disease exacerbations.