A cost-effective protocol for screening patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT

The incidence of hospital-acquired infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is rising worldwide. Rapid identification of MRSA carriers is an important step in reducing the risk of transmission to other patients. Molecular methods are increasingly popular but are technically demanding and expensive. This study assesses the modification of one of the commercially available latex agglutination tests (Mastalex-MRSA) for the identification of penicillin-binding protein 27' on known strains of MRSA as well as other organisms identified from chromogenic agar plates. A total of 3050 patients with unknown MRSA status were processed through the routine …