title: Continuing Challenges for the Clinical Laboratory for Detection of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
abstract: Detecting carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) can be difficult. In particular, the absence of FDA-cleared automated antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) devices that use revised Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) carbapenem breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae and the lack of active surveillance tests hamper the clinical laboratory. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Lau and colleagues (A. F. Lau, G. A. Fahle, M. A. Kemp, A. N. Jassem, J. P. Dekker, and K. M. Frank, J Clin Microbiol 53:3729-3737, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01921-15) evaluate the performance of a research-use-only PCR for the detection of CRE in rectal surveillance specimens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA rhumphries@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Romney M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Humphries
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Clinical Outcomes Research Unit, Division of Infectious Disease, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Torrance, California, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McKinnell
mesh_terms: D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000201:enzymology*; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D060005:Genotyping Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001618:beta-Lactamases