Microbiology will perform a new rapid test for PBP2 starting July 22.
What does this mean for our providers? Early detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections is known to reduce health care costs, reduce empiric use of vancomycin, permit cost-effective decisions for optimal patient management and is critical to decrease patient morbidity and mortality.
Conventional methods of antimicrobial susceptibility testing can take over 24 hours, and mecA gene identification is expensive and time-consuming to perform. However, penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a) detection has the advantage over mecA to identify strains that not only harbor the mecA gene but also produce the protein that confers resistance to penicillin.
When Microbiology identifies a Staphylococcus aureus from culture, we will perform the PBP2 rapid test to identify if the Staphhylococcus aureus is a methicillin-sensitive staph (MSSA) or MRSA. This process will be completed for all culture samples except for blood. A preliminary report will be sent to the chart:
Providers will see PBP2 being reported starting July 22.
All inpatient MRSA identified with PBP2 will be called to the patient’s care team as a preliminary report. Sensitivities will be performed.
Positive blood cultures with Gram stains of Gram-positive cocci in clusters will continue to receive same day testing by PCR for MRSA and Staphylococcus aureus.
Questions? Call Microbiology at 503-814-1662 or email Margaret Palmquist, senior lab specialist.