Advances in diagnostic assays for Clostridioides difficile infection in adults

Dong-Ang Liu; Shiyu Chen; Ruiyao Hu; Yuting Qiu; Keyi Chen; Yue Xu; Jinghua Yuan; Xinling Zhang; Xiaoping Li

doi:10.3389/fcimb.2024.1492511

Advances in diagnostic assays for Clostridioides difficile infection in adults

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024 Dec 10:14:1492511. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1492511. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Dong-Ang Liu^{1

2}, Shiyu Chen^{1

2}, Ruiyao Hu^{1

2}, Yuting Qiu^{1

2}, Keyi Chen^{1

2}, Yue Xu^{1

2}, Jinghua Yuan^{1

2}, Xinling Zhang^{1

2}, Xiaoping Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) was a gram-positive anaerobic bacterium in the gut, exhibiting clinical manifestations ranging from mild diarrhoea to fatal pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficile infection (CDI) remains a serious public health problem and accounted for an estimated 360,075 cases in the United States in 2021. It has attracted the utmost attention of the world health organization (WHO). Since publication of a review of the diagnosis of CDI in adults, new clinical diagnostic assays have become available and clinical practice guidelines were updated. This paper presents a comprehensive review of contemporary laboratory diagnostic approaches for CDI in adult patients, with a focus on the utilisation and potential advancements of five sophisticated methodologies, CRISPR in conjunction with nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), gene sequencing technology, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, and real-time cell analysis (RTCA). It can provide new perspectives and ideas for the early diagnosis of CDI in clinical settings.

Keywords: CRISPR; Clostridioides difficile infection; adults; diagnostic assays; gene sequencing technology; nucleic acid amplification tests.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Clostridioides difficile* / genetics
Clostridioides difficile* / isolation & purification
Clostridium Infections* / diagnosis
Clostridium Infections* / microbiology
Diagnostic Tests, Routine / methods
Humans
Mass Spectrometry
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / methods
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques* / methods
Spectrum Analysis, Raman / methods

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was financially supported by Zhejiang Shuren University Basic Scientific Research Special Funds (2024XZ011) and 2024 National Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program Project (202411842049). These funders did not participate in the designing, performing, or reporting of the current study.