Rapid detection of methicillin resistance in staphylococci using a slide latex agglutination kit

The slide latex agglutination test, MRSA-Screen, was compared with the mecA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and traditional susceptibility test methods for the detection of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci. The MRSA-Screen test detected the same number of methicillin-resistant S. aureus as the mecA PCR and the traditional susceptibility tests. It correctly identified all 21 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus as being sensitive. It also produced the same result as the mecA PCR in identifying a methicillin-resistant S. aureus among six isolates classified as borderline resistant by traditional susceptibility tests. The MRSA-Screen test and mecA PCR detected methicillin resistance in 10 and 15 of 17 methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci, respectively. From these results, it is concluded that the MRSA-Screen is a very accurate, reliable and rapid method of detecting methicillin resistance in S. aureus and is suitable for use in clinical microbiology laboratories. Further study of its use in detecting methicillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci is required.