Abstract
A commercial system for the rapid detection of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus, the BBL Crystal MRSA test (C-MRSA ID; Becton Dickinson, USA), was evaluated prospectively and compared with a polymerase chain reaction test for the presence of themecA gene. Ten European centres tested a total of 676 isolates ofStaphylococcus aureus from blood cultures. The system correctly identified 661 (97.8%) isolates within 4 h. All but threemecA gene-negative isolates (99.4% specificity) yielded a negative C-MRSA ID reaction, and 158 of 170mecA gene-positive isolates were accurately detected (92.9% sensitivity). After repeated testing of discrepant results, sensitivity and specificity increased to 99% and 100%, respectively.
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Zambardi, G., Fleurette, J., Schito, G.C. et al. European multicentre evaluation of a commercial system for identification of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus . Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 15, 747–749 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01691964
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01691964