International multicenter evaluation of latex agglutination tests for identification of Staphylococcus aureus

J Clin Microbiol. 2001 Jan;39(1):86-9. doi: 10.1128/JCM.39.1.86-89.2001.

Abstract

A newly marketed rapid agglutination kit for the identification of Staphylococcus aureus, Slidex Staph Plus (bioMérieux), was compared to Staphaurex Plus (Murex Diagnostics) and Pastorex Staph-Plus (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur). The study took place in three clinical microbiology laboratories in three different European countries. A total of 892 staphylococcal isolates, including 278 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) isolates, 171 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates, and 443 coagulase-negative staphylococcal isolates, were analyzed. The sensitivities (MSSA/MRSA) and specificities, respectively, were 98. 2% (98.9%/97.1%) and 98.9% for Slidex Staph Plus, 98.2% (98.2%/98. 2%) and 96.2% for Staphaurex Plus, and 98.7% (98.6%/98.8%) and 95.7% for Pastorex Staph Plus. The specificity of the Slidex Staph Plus kit was statistically significantly higher than the specificities of Staphaurex Plus and Pastorex Staph-Plus. The Slidex Staph Plus is a very reliable test for the identification of S. aureus.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Coagulase / metabolism
  • Humans
  • International Cooperation
  • Latex Fixation Tests*
  • Methicillin / pharmacology
  • Methicillin Resistance
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Penicillins / pharmacology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Staphylococcal Infections / diagnosis
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / classification*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification

Substances

  • Coagulase
  • Penicillins
  • Methicillin