Direct Detection of Methicillin Resistance in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in Blood Culture Broth by Use of a Penicillin Binding Protein 2a Latex Agglutination Test

Abstract

We studied the utility of performing a penicillin binding protein 2a latex agglutination (PBP-LA) assay directly on Bactec blood culture broth samples containing Staphylococcus aureus to rapidly detect methicillin resistance. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of this method were 94.1%, 97.5%, 98%, and 92.9%, respectively.