Fatima S, Saleem S, Abbasi M H, Haman A.
Detection of MRSA Nasal Carriage in Hospital Population Using Chromagar.
Biomedica Jan ;33(3):187-91.

Background and Objectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important human pathogen and normally colonize in body parts including skin, nose, inguinal folds, perineum and throat and accounts for nearly two-third of all S.aureus infections in hospitals. MRSA is resistant not only to all ?-lactam group but also other antibiotics including aminoglycosides, tetracycline and macrolides. The study was undertaken for the rapid detection of MRSA utilizing CHROMagar MRSA (CMRSA). Methods: Two hundred nasal samples were taken with sterile wooden swab, inoculated on CMRSA and Mueller Hinton agar (MHA) with cefoxitin disc (30µg). All the studied samples were taken from 3 days old hospitalized patients. Results: At 37ºC of incubation after 24h, 10.5% of the total studied samples were positive for MRSA while another 12% samples showed positive results with an extended period of incubation upto 48 h on CMRSA plates. Thus a total of 22.5% were positive for MRSA. 6.5% of the total samples showed methicillin resistance confirmed with novobicin disc (30µg) and were identified as Staphyloccocus epidermidis (MRSE) on MHA with cefoxitin disc after 24h of incubation. Conclusion: It is concluded that CMRSA is equal in activity as compared to Mueller Hinton agar with cefoxitin disc which requires at least 3 days of sample processing, so CMRSA can be used for the rapid detection of MRSA without utilization of additional sources.

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