Performance of 3 real-time PCR assays for direct detection of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA from clinical samples

We compared 3 real-time PCR assays: off-label use of 2 commercial assays (BD-GeneOhm™ MRSA assay for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] detection and BD-GeneOhm StaphSR™ for MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus detection) and an in-house real-time PCR assay for detection of total S. aureus from clinical specimens. Testing was performed on 200 distinct specimens. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated using culture as the gold standard. The prevalence of S. aureus in the samples was 44.5%, and MRSA was 20%. For total S. aureus, the StaphSR-PCR and the in-house PCR assays had a sensitivity and specificity of 94.4% and 96.4% and 93.3% and 99.1%, respectively. For MRSA detection, the StaphSR and the BD GeneOhm assay had a sensitivity and specificity of 92.5% and 98.8% and 92.5% and 96.3%, respectively. This study demonstrates the potential use of tests like the StaphSR-PCR assay for rapid detection of S. aureus and MRSA directly from clinical specimens; however, culture follow-up would be needed to identify other potential pathogens in the specimen.