• Werner C Albrich and David Rimland.
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. walbric@emory.edu
• South. Med. J. 2007 Feb 1; 100 (2): 149-51.

BackgroundApart from leukocytosis, few laboratory markers suggestive of Clostridium difficile infections have been described.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the association between thrombocytosis, leukocytosis and C. difficile infections at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center.ResultsOf 162 patients with C. difficile infection, 36 (22%) had thrombocytosis, and 97 (60%) had leukocytosis. C difficile toxin A ELISA was performed in 46/695 (6.6%) patients with thrombocytosis and was positive in 18 (39.1%). Leukocytosis was present in 16/18 (89%) of patients with positive C. difficile toxin A ELISA and thrombocytosis, but also in 21/28 (75%) of patients with negative C. difficile toxin A ELISA and thrombocytosis. Among patients with marked leukocytosis, C. difficile toxin A was more frequently detected in those with concomitant thrombocytosis (P = 0.07).ConclusionsThe presence of thrombocytosis may be helpful to improve the pretest probability for C difficile infections.

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