Clinical evaluation of repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction using the Diversi-Lab System for strain typing of vancomycin-resistant enterococci.
The reliability of the Diversi-Lab System, an automated method of microbial strain typing using repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR), was evaluated by comparing results with those obtained by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Ninety-five clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE; 13 groups, 2-17 isolates per group) sent to Associated Regional and University Pathologists (ARUP) Laboratories for typing were tested by both methods. Rep-PCR and PFGE results were concordant for 83 isolates: all 32 isolates in 6 of the groups and 51 of the 63 isolates in the other 7 groups. Clustering of the remaining 12 isolates differed. With the Diversi-Lab System, analysis is objective, and results are available in 4 h, compared with a more subjective analysis and a 2- to 3-day turnaround time for PFGE. The Diversi-Lab System may be a viable alternative to PFGE for typing VRE in clinical reference laboratories.
Pounder
June I
JI
Associated Regional and University Pathologists Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA. june.pounder@aruplab.com
Shutt
Cheryl K
CK
Schaecher
Barbara J
BJ
Woods
Gail L
GL
D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance
D004269:DNA, Bacterial