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Plasmid-mediated class C β-lactamases are reported from Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae with increasing frequency. No screening and confirmatory tests have been uniformly established for these strains. We investigated for the presence of plasmid-mediated AmpC production in 51 clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, comparing two different boronic acid formulations, phenylboronic acid (PB) and 3-(N-Boc-amino)phenylboronic acid (APB), using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PB performed better than APB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on a study which examined the use of ORSAB (Oxacillin Resistance Screening Agar Base) for isolation and detection of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in a routine clinical laboratory. The study was divided into two parts: part 1 examined the effectiveness of ORSAB as compared with LSM agar after 24 h and 48 h incubation and part 2 compared the ability and accuracy of four media (ORSAB agar, LSM agar, MSA and DNase agar) to differentiate and identify MSSA and MRSA clinical isolates. Both ORSAB and LSM agar achieved a high level of sensitivity and specificity for detection of positive MRSA swabs. In part 2 of the study, no difference was found between ORSAB agar, LSM agar, MSA and DNase agar.

Cites a study on the rapid detection of non-multidrug-resistant and multidrug-resistant methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using cycling probe technology for the mecA gene. Evaluation of Velogene-Cycling Probe Technology (CPT), a new DNA probe assay; Reliability of the Velogene-CPT for the detection of methicillin and oxacillin resistance; Use of the test as a valuable detection tool against MRSA.

The article presents a case study in which laboratory findings from 27 different cases of pneumococcal bacteraemia occurring in patients attending the Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, Australia, were analysed within a 1-year period. Blood culture bottles were inoculated by medical officers as recommended by the manufacturer. Susceptibility testing was performed using the disc diffusion methods described by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Results indicate that the interpretation of blood culture smears for diagnosis of pneumococcal bacteraemia can be problematic. This is largely due to the morphological changes that arise from production of autolysins.