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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
A Duplex Digital PCR Assay for Simultaneous Quantification of the Enterococcus spp. and the Human Fecal-associated HF183 Marker in Waters
Published on: March 9, 2016
A new multiplex PCR assay for the simultaneous detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci from rectal swabs
Dona Benadof1, Marcela San Martín, Judith Aguirre
1Laboratorio de Microbiología, Roberto del Rio Hospital, Zañartu Ave. 1085, Santiago, Chile.
Objectives:
This study describes the diagnostic performance of a recently available multiplex PCR-based kit for the simultaneous detection and identification of Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, vanA, vanB, vanC1 and vanC2/C3 genes, directly from rectal swabs constituting the most complete existing molecular assay currently available.
Methods:
The diagnostic performance of this assay was evaluated by a multicenter study involving three independent public hospitals and consisted in the analysis of 187 rectal swabs from patients at high risk for vancomycin-resistant enterococci colonization.
Results:
When bacteria culture was used as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicted values for the assay were 96.8%, 76.0%, 67.7% and 97.9%, respectively. When a composite reference standard consisting of culture and DNA sequencing of PCR products was used as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicted values for the PCR-based assay were 97.8%, 96.9%, 96.7% and 97.9%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Based on these results, we conclude that this assay is considerably more sensitive than traditional microbiological methods for detecting vancomycin-resistant enterococci from rectal swabs. It is also much faster than culture. We believe that the implementation of this assay in routine clinical laboratories could help to reduce hospital-acquired vancomycin-resistant enterococci infections.
