Using dog scent detection as a point-of-care tool to identify toxigenic clostridium difficile in stool

Abstract

We evaluated the operating characteristics of 2 comparably trained dogs as a “point-of-care” diagnostic tool to detect toxin gene-positive Clostridium difficile. Although each dog could detect toxin gene-positive C difficile in stool specimens with sensitivities of 77.6 and 92.6 and specificities of 85.1 and 84.5, respectively, interrater reliability is only modest (Cohen's kappa 0.52), limiting widespread application.