[Glycopeptide-resistant enterococci carriage: Are actual isolation and identification techniques sufficient?]

Area of Science:

• Clinical Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Hospital Hygiene

Background:

• Glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) monitoring is crucial for hospital hygiene.
• Asymptomatic carriage is detected via systematic rectal swabs in high-risk clinics.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare two GRE screening methods.
• Evaluate a new multiplex PCR and hybridization kit (Génotype® Enterococcus) for GRE detection.

Main Methods:

• A panel of 448 samples was analyzed over 4 months.
• Method 1: Direct sample inoculation.
• Method 2: Preliminary enrichment followed by molecular diagnosis (PCR/hybridization).

Main Results:

• The enrichment technique successfully isolated all resistant strains.
• GRE (VanA) carriage incidence was 0.55% (2/362 patients).
• Multiplex PCR corrected erroneous results from a rapid identification method.

Conclusions:

• Direct inoculation methods underestimate GRE carriage incidence.
• The Génotype® Enterococcus molecular method offers reliable, routine laboratory application for GRE detection.