title: Comparative performances of six agglutination kits assessed by using typical and atypical strains of Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Six commercial agglutination tests designed for the identification of Staphylococcus aureus were compared by using a strain collection which included 512 staphylococci representing 33 species (318 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus [including 144 oxacillin resistant], 46 S. epidermidis isolates, 15 S. haemolyticus isolates, 12 S. saprophyticus isolates, 29 S. schleiferi isolates, 30 S. lugdunensis isolates, and 62 other coagulase-negative staphylococci). This group also included a proportion of strains with unusual phenotypes (e.g., 19 coagulase-negative S. aureus isolates, 26 clumping factor-negative S. aureus isolates, and 4 S. aureus isolates each with a double deficiency). The overall sensitivity for identification of typical and atypical S. aureus was high with the Staphaurex Plus test (Murex Biotech) (99.7%), the Pastorex Staph Plus test (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur) (99.7%), and the Slidex Staph Plus test (bioMérieux) (100%). The overall rate of specificity was affected by the unusual inclusion in this study of a high proportion of non-S. aureus species, such as S. lugdunensis and S. schleiferi, which express a clumping factor and therefore produce a positive result with the agglutination tests.
authors.affiliation: Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, UPRES EA1655, Faculté de Médecine, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Personne
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bes
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lina
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vandenesch
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Etienne
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*