Abstract:

Objective　To evaluate the clinical application significance of real-time fluorescence quantitation polymerase chain reaction（PCR） in rapid determination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus（MRSA）. Methods　Among 70 cultured and identified samples of known bacteria， 22 samples were MRSA， 48 samples were not. In order to find out the specificity and sensitivity of the method， the known bacteria were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitation PCR. In order to detect the carrying condition of nosocomial MRSA， the nasal swabs of 88 clinical medical staff and patients were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitation PCR. Results　All of the cultured MRSA determined by real-time fluorescence quantitation PCR were MRSA， and the sensitivity was 100%. All of the cultured non-MRSA determined by real-time fluorescence quantitation PCR were not MRSA either， and the specificity was 100%. The sensitivity of determining MRSA by real-time fluorescence quantitation PCR can be confirmed as 1×10³ cfu/mL. Among 48 nasal swabs of patients， 26 samples were mecA gene positive， 28 samples were Staphylococcus aureus positive， 20 samples were both positive simultaneously（which were MRSA）， and the positive rate of MRSA was 41.6%. Among 40 nasal swabs of clinical medical staff， 12 samples were mecA gene positive， 13 samples were Staphylococcus aureus positive， 9 samples were both positive  imultaneously（which were MRSA）， and the positive rate of MRSA was 22.5%. Conclusions　Real-time fluorescence quantitation PCR can be used for the rapid determination of MRSA.

Key words: Real-time fluorescence quantitation polymerase chain reaction, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Rapid determination