A 24-hour screening protocol for identification of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Steven J Drews; Grant Johnson; Farhad Gharabaghi; Margaret Roscoe; Anne Matlow; Raymond Tellier; Susan E Richardson

doi:10.1128/JCM.44.4.1578-1580.2006

A 24-hour screening protocol for identification of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Apr;44(4):1578-80. doi: 10.1128/JCM.44.4.1578-1580.2006.

Authors

Steven J Drews¹, Grant Johnson, Farhad Gharabaghi, Margaret Roscoe, Anne Matlow, Raymond Tellier, Susan E Richardson

Affiliation

¹ Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Room 3654, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.

Abstract

We describe a 24-h protocol for the identification of patients who are positive for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), using stool and rectal swab samples and VRE screening broth, automated DNA extraction, and real-time PCR for vanA and vanB genes. Compared to conventional screening methods, this protocol had a high sensitivity and specificity and a negative predictive value.

MeSH terms

Automation
Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
Carbon-Oxygen Ligases / genetics*
Enterococcus faecium / drug effects
Enterococcus faecium / genetics
Enterococcus faecium / isolation & purification*
Feces / microbiology
Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / diagnosis
Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology*
Humans
Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods
Sensitivity and Specificity
Vancomycin / pharmacology
Vancomycin Resistance / genetics*

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
VanA ligase, Bacteria
VanB protein, Enterococcus
Vancomycin
Carbon-Oxygen Ligases