Table 4.
Analytical sensitivity for recovering Staphylococcus aureus by different culture methods within a body niche
| Anterior Nares | Axillae | Inguinal Folds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
| All S. aureus n=12 (%) | MRSA only n=8 (%) | All S. aureus n=7 (%) | MRSA only n=4 (%) | All S. aureus n=8 (%) | MRSA only n=3 (%) | |
| Direct plating to BAP | 5 (42%) | 1 (13%) | 4 (57%) | 1 (25%) | 5 (63%) | 3 (100%) |
| Direct plating to Spectra MRSAa | 3 (25%) | 3 (38%) | n/a | n/a | 2 (25%) | 2 (67%) |
| Broth enrichment to BAP | 12 (100%) | 6 (75%) | 7 (100%) | 3 (75%) | 8 (100%) | 3 (100%) |
| Broth enrichment to Spectra MRSAa | 4 (33%) | 4 (50%) | 1 (14%) | 1 (25%) | 1 (13%) | 1 (33%) |
Abbreviations: MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus; BAP, blood agar plate
a
Spectra MRSA is selective for the growth of MRSA.