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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
Biosensor for Detection of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Bacteria
Published on: May 8, 2013
Evaluation of a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay using analyte-specific reagents for detection of
Tina Y Fodrie1, Stephen D Allen, Deborah E Blue
1Department of Pathology, Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, USA.
Objective:
To validate a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that is capable of accommodating 30 patient samples in a single batch without compromising the level of sensitivity and specificity associated with PCR testing.
Study Design:
A real-time PCR analyte-specific reagent (ASR) assay was compared to conventional culture methods using dual swab samples collected from the nares of 151 patients.
Results:
Of the 151 specimens, 49 (32%) were positive for MRSA by PCR, whereas 40 (26%) were positive by culture methods. The Roche LightCycler 2.0 (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.) and its associated ASRs were capable of analyzing 30 patient samples and 2 controls in < 2 hours. Current data suggest that 4-10% of our patient specimens harbor both coagulase negative Staphylococcus and S aureus in the same sample. Samples such as this are reflexed to culture, only 24% of which contain MRSA. Efficiency in the laborato-ry was greatly improved. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 100%, 92%, 82% and 100%, respectively.
Conclusion:
The Roche LightCycler 2.0 PCR platform is a sensitive and efficient screening method for determining the nasal carriage of MRSA with a rapid turnaround time in the clinical laboratory.
