Comparative Evaluation of Biomed InTray ® Colorex MRSA with BD ESwab Collection Kit/ BBL™ CHROMagar ® MRSA II

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most dangerous antibiotic resistant pathogens and a common cause of most health-care acquired infections. MRSA causes skin, wound and bloodstream infections that can cause sepsis and ultimately lead to death. CDC and WHO have listed MRSA as a serious threat infection and included in The National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria. Early, reliable, and accurate diagnosis of MRSA in a clinical setting is critical for the treatment and control of infection in hospitals and the community. We comparatively evaluated the efficacy of two commercial diagnostic systems, Biomed InTray® Colorex and BDTM ESwab Regular Collection Kit/ BBL™ CHROMagar® (ESwab + CHROMagar®) to recover 51 MRSA clinical isolates. The percentage recovery of MRSA clinical isolates in InTray® and in ESwab + CHROMagar® was 99% and 75%, respectively. Our findings suggest that InTray® was more efficient than ESwab + CHROMagar® in recovering MRSA clinical isolates.