Faster diagnosis of Clostridium difficile should reduce the spread of infection and improve use of NHS resources in hospitals.

Problem

Clostridium difficile (C.diff) is a bacterium that can infect the bowel and cause severe life threatening infection. There is a need to develop a test that can rapidly diagnose C.diff as it can easily spread, especially within hospitals and care homes.

Action

• GenePOC, a Canadian company now acquired by Meridian Bioscience, has developed a rapid test for diagnosing C.diff.
• We were funded by the company to examine the potential benefits of using their test called Revogene.
• Through this project we collaborated with Newcastle University’s Health Economics Group and Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle Hospitals and the NIHR Leeds In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative.

Outcome

• Interviews with clinical and scientific experts revealed that currently C.diff is diagnosed using several laboratory tests which are often done away from the hospital site. This can cause delays in the actions of the clinical team.
• Economic modelling implied that Revogene would save over £283 per patient.
• The cost savings were predicted to be associated with a shorter time to process tests and share results.

Impact

• Faster diagnosis of C.diff, using Revogene, should ensure that patients are treated and isolated more quickly.
• This would also reduce the spread of the infection.
• There could be savings to NHS resources.
• The results were used by the company to plan future evidence development.

Find out more about the project