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J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.01253-07
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Reduction in Workload and Reporting Time of MRSA Screening with MRSASelect^TM Medium versus Mannitol-Salt Medium Supplemented with Oxacillin

Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Clinical Microbiology, Saint-Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Diagnostic Services of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: plagacewiens{at}hotmail.com.

	Abstract

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a significant pathogen in both the nosocomial and community setting and screening for carriers is an important infection control practice in many hospitals. In this retrospective study, we demonstrate that the implementation of an MRSA screening protocol using a selective chromogenic medium (MRSASelect^TM) reduced the workload for this screening test by 63.7% overall and by 12.6% per specimen and reduced turn-around time for reporting by an average of 1.33 days for all MRSA screening specimens, 1.97 days for MRSA positive specimens and 1.3 days for MRSA negative specimens when compared to standard mannitol salt agar supplemented with 6mg/L oxacillin.