Open Forum Infectious Diseases · 2018 · 38 citations · 13 references
Veterinary MedicineInfectious DiseasesVeterinary MicrobiologyCompanion Animal EpidemiologyCompanion Animal ToxicologyDiagnostic MicrobiologyFoodborne Pathogen DetectionGastrointestinal Pathogen DiagnosticsPathogen DetectionVeterinary Diagnostic MicrobiologyAntigen Detection In StoolCanine Scent DetectionClostridial Toxin DetectionInterrater ReliabilityKappa CoefficientKappa StatisticOperating Characteristics EvaluationToxin Detection Assays
Abstract We evaluated the operating characteristics of 2 comparably trained dogs as a “point-of-care” diagnostic tool to detect toxin gene-positive Clostridium difficile. Although each dog could detect toxin gene-positive C difficile in stool specimens with sensitivities of 77.6 and 92.6 and specificities of 85.1 and 84.5, respectively, interrater reliability is only modest (Cohen’s kappa 0.52), limiting widespread application.
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