Background: There are 400,000 cases and 30,000 deaths from Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections in the United States annually. Efforts to reduce the transmission of C. diff have focused on patients with diarrhea, however, many patients with C. diff are carriers who do not have symptoms. Because they are not isolated, carriers serve as a [...]

Background: Timely Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) testing is challenging but is important for faster and appropriate isolation and treatment of patients. Few studies have specifically addressed effective methods to hasten CDI testing without relying on PCR. We sought to use Quality Improvement methodologies including the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle and Control Charts to reduce CDI testing [...]