Quantification by real-time PCR assay of Staphylococcus aureus load: a useful tool for rapidly identifying persistent nasal carriers

Paul O Verhoeven; Florence Grattard; Anne Carricajo; Frédéric Lucht; Céline Cazorla; Olivier Garraud; Bruno Pozzetto; Philippe Berthelot

doi:10.1128/JCM.00157-12

Quantification by real-time PCR assay of Staphylococcus aureus load: a useful tool for rapidly identifying persistent nasal carriers

J Clin Microbiol. 2012 Jun;50(6):2063-5. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00157-12. Epub 2012 Apr 4.

Authors

Paul O Verhoeven¹, Florence Grattard, Anne Carricajo, Frédéric Lucht, Céline Cazorla, Olivier Garraud, Bruno Pozzetto, Philippe Berthelot

Affiliation

¹ GIMAP EA 3064 (Groupe Immunité des Muqueuses et Agents Pathogènes), University of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France.

Abstract

The Cepheid Xpert MRSA/SA nasal PCR assay was compared to culture for quantifying Staphylococcus aureus load from 104 nasal samples (r = 0.91, P < 0.0001). Using a bacterial load-based algorithm, the test was found able to predict the carrier state in 32 of 35 healthy volunteers (22 persistent and 13 nonpersistent carriers).

Publication types

Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Bacterial Load / methods*
Carrier State / microbiology*
Humans
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
Nose / microbiology*
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology*