Saselect: a Well-Performing Chromogenic Medium for Primary Isolation & Identification of S. aureus & CoNS Directly from Clinical Samples

Document Type : New and original researches in the field of Microbiology.

Authors

1 Medical Microbiology & Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University

2 Intensive Care Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University

3 General Histology Department, Faculty of Dentistry - MSA University

Abstract

Background: Since the importance of Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) as the most common pathogens sought in clinical microbiology laboratories, the need for highly sensitive and highly specific culture based methods has been aroused. To improve the recovery and identification of S.aureus and CoNS, several chromogenic mixtures have been developed which allow identification of the bacteria within 24 hours of incubation on the basis of colonial morphology and distinctive color patterns. Methodology: In the present study we used SaSelect, DNase test and coagulase test for direct detection of staphylococci from clinical specimens. Objectives: To asses the performance of the chromogenic medium (SaSelect) for identification & isolation of S. aureus & CoNS directly from clinical samples and to compare the performance of (SaSelect) to the conventional methods for identification & isolation of S. aureus & CoNS directly from clinical samples. Results: SaSelect was found to be a well-performing chromogenic medium that significantly improved the detection of staphylococci, especially S. aureus, compared to conventional culture (P <0.001). Conclusion: SaSelect is a well performing culture medium for the primary isolation of various staphylococci in comparison to conventional methods. It was highly sensitive and specific especially for isolation of S. aureus.

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