Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic spore forming bacteria which can be part of the normal intestinal flora in long term care residents and hospitalized patients. This bacteria is the main cause of nosocomial diarrhea and the most common infectious cause of acute diarrhea in nursing homes which could lead to colonic perforation and even death from the sepsis. When a patient has a diarrhea event, the risk of contamination with the bed sheds, toilets, furniture and hands of care providers, presents an opportunity to spread the bacteria around.
The formulation under investigation is approved for cleansing of the skin including the perineal area. It aids in removal of urine and feces or other foreign material. The formulation contains 0.13% benzethonium chloride is synthetic quaternary ammonium, surfactant, antiseptic, and anti-infective compound used as a topical antimicrobial agent. The formulation was tested against Clostridium difficile.  One gram of the ormulation and a non medicated equivalent formulation was used to inoculate 0.5ml of a 1 x 10⁷ cfu/ml (colony forming units per ml) suspension of bacteria. Samples were incubated for 0, 2, 4, 24 and 72 hours before being processed and the number of bacteria remaining enumerated. At each time point 6 replicate samples of each product were sampled to even out any natural variability caused by the growing culture. Results of the experiments provided promising results against this bacterium.