Derivation and Validation of Guidelines for Stool Cultures for Enteropathogenic Bacteria Other Than Clostridium difficile in Hospitalized Adults

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Abstract
The yield of stool cultures performed in hospitalized patients is low. Enteropathogenic bacteria other than Clostridium species are grown from 2.6% to 6.4% of stool cultures1,2 and only 0.6% of stool cultures obtained more than 3 days after admission (SC>3d).1,3 Cumulative laboratory charges per positive result in hospitalized patients are approximately $1300 (1993 data),2 making a positive stool culture report one of the most expensive microbiological results.4