title: Evaluation of mannitol salt agar, CHROMagar Staph aureus and CHROMagar MRSA for detection of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from nasal swab specimens.
abstract: Mannitol salt agar (MSA), CHROMagar Staph aureus (CSA) and CHROMagar MRSA (CSA-MRSA) were evaluated with nasal surveillance specimens for their ability to detect Staphylococcus aureus and meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). CSA was found to be more sensitive than MSA in detecting S. aureus (98 versus 84.3 %; P=0.03). CSA and CSA-MRSA were equivalent in the ability to detect MRSA at 24 h (89.7 versus 87.2 %) and at 48 h (94.9 versus 94.9 %). When combined with Staphaurex slide confirmation testing, both CSA and CSA-MRSA were highly specific (100 %) media for detecting MRSA from nasal swab specimens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Zhuolin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.|Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.|Department of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ebbing
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lautenbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.|Department of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fishman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Irving
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nachamkin
mesh_terms: D000362:Agar; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002440:Cefoxitin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008353:Mannitol / Q000737:chemistry; D008712:Methicillin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D003470:Culture Media; D008353:Mannitol; D002440:Cefoxitin; D000362:Agar; D008712:Methicillin