Efficacies of rapid agglutination tests for identification of methicillin-resistant staphylococcal strains as Staphylococcus aureus.
Four commercially available rapid agglutination tests for the identification of Staphylococcus aureus were compared with the tube coagulase test for the identification of 300 methicillin-resistant isolates of staphylococci. Isolates tested included 207 methicillin-resistant S. aureus and 93 coagulase-negative staphylococci, collected from five medical centers. Strain variability was documented by phage typing and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Results of rapid identification tests ranged between 82 and 86% sensitivity, significantly poorer than the 98% sensitivity which the tube coagulase test provided.
Piper
J
J
Division of Infectious Diseases, Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas 78236.
Hadfield
T
T
McCleskey
F
F
Evans
M
M
Friedstrom
S
S
Lauderdale
P
P
Winn
R
R
D000372:Agglutination Tests; D003030:Coagulase; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D003030:Coagulase; D008712:Methicillin