Occurrence and significance of Clostridium difficile in faecal specimens of hospitalized children.

Stool specimens from 766 hospitalized children, 418 with diarrhoea and 348 controls, were investigated for C. difficile. In both groups the rate of isolation was highest (about 30%) during the first year of life, dropping to nearly 5% in older children. There was no significant difference in the frequency of C. difficile in children with diarrhoea and the controls nor was there a significant influence of previous antibiotic therapy on the rate of isolation. 111/135 strains (82.2%) produced toxin B and 58/135 strains (43%) produced toxin A measured by Y-1- cell culture (toxin B) and rabbit ileal loop test (toxin A). We did not find any significant difference in the toxin production between strains isolated from diarrhoeal children and from the controls. A total of 285 stool specimens was investigated for toxin B production in vivo. There was no significant difference of toxin B in the stool specimens of both groups.