Comparison of Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization Methods for the Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.

Introduction Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with high morbidity and mortality due to the development of antimicrobial resistance secondary to irrational use of antibiotics, nonadherence to infection control practices, and increased use of intravascular devices in healthcare systems. Detection of MRSA is critical in clinical microbiology laboratories as it helps identify MRSA carriers and avoid treatment failure in patients. Hence, this study compared various phenotypic methods with the standard genotyping method to determine a method that permits rapid and accurate detection of MRSA.