Journal of clinical microbiology
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Dec 2012
Comparative StudyRapid detection of Staphylococcus aureus in lower respiratory tract secretions from patients with suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia: evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert MRSA/SA SSTI assay.
A preclinical evaluation was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Cepheid Xpert assay on 135 lower respiratory tract secretions for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and S. aureus. Compared with the quantitative culture, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 99.0%, 72.2%, 90.7%, and 96.3%, respectively.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Dec 2012
Case ReportsIdentification of Streptococcus intermedius central nervous system infection by use of PCR and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
We describe the utility of PCR and electrospray ionization with mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS) of culture-negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in order to identify Gram-positive cocci noted on a Gram stain of CSF from a previously healthy 26-year-old man with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and multiple brain abscesses. CSF samples were obtained 2 weeks apart, first by lumbar puncture and 2 weeks later from an external ventricular drain that was inserted into the right ventricle. ⋯ PCR/ESI-MS detected Streptococcus intermedius, a common cause of brain abscesses, in both CSF samples as well as in the fixed tissue from the biopsy. This unique case confirms S. intermedius pulmonary infection as the source of metastatic CNS infection and reveals the potential of PCR/ESI-MS to detect a streptococcal pathogen not captured by conventional cultures.