Improved Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Using Phenyl Mannitol Broth Containing Aztreonam and Ceftizoxime

Abstract

ABSTRACT We tested a phenyl mannitol broth containing ceftizoxime and aztreonam (PHMB + ) for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with reference MRSA strains and, subsequently, with clinical samples ( n = 1,098). All reference MRSA strains induced color change in PHMB + after 24 to 72 h of incubation. In a clinical setting, 40 MRSA strains were detected with PHMB + , compared with only 23 detected with a routine method. Thus, this selective broth significantly ( P < 0.001) improved the rate of MRSA detection.