KUMJ | VOL. 21 | NO. 1 | ISSUE 81 | JANUARY - MARCH, 2023
Evaluation of Latex Agglutination Test for Rapid Identification of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Pyogenic Wound Infections at a Tertiary Care Hospital
Shah P, Sah R, Sharma A, Khanal B, Bhattarai NR
Abstract: Background
Staphylococcus aureus infections are increasingly reported worldwide. It is a major
clinical problem and imposes significant morbidity and mortality due to widespread
emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens like methicillin resistant Staphylococcus
aureus. Thus, rapid and reliable identification of Staphylococcus aureus is essential
for timely and effective management of patient.
Objective
The performance of Latex agglutination test (Staphaurex Plus) was compared
to conventional method tube coagulase test which is gold standard too for the
identification of Staphylococcus aureus.
Method
This study was conducted at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. Following
standard microbiological methods, isolation and identification was done in the
Department of Microbiology. MRSA detection was performed following Clinical and
Laboratory Standard Institute. All the isolates of Staphylococci were subjected for
Latex agglutination test and was performed according to manufacturer’s instructions
using Staphaurex Plus kit.
Result
Out of 377 (methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus – 142; methicillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus - 233; Coagulase Negative Staphylococci –2) isolates of
Staphylococci, Latex agglutination test was found to be positive in 138 (97.1%) of
methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and 220 (94.4%) of methicillin
resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive
predictive value and negative predictive value of Latex agglutination test was found
to be 95.46%, 100%, 100%, 10.52% respectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Latex agglutination test is a rapid and reliable test for the identification
of Staphylococcus aureus.
Keyword : Latex agglutination test, Staphylococcus aureus, Tube coagulase test
