MRSA and CPE

Question 1

What does MRSA and CPE stand for?

Answer 1

Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Carbapenemase Producing Enterobacterales

Question 2

MRSA:

What sort of infections can staph aureus (gram positive) cause?

Where do they usually colonise asymptomatically?

What is meticillin?

Answer 2

Pneumonia
Cellulitis
Endocarditic
Device-related infections

Skin and nasopharynx

Meticillin - ABs used in lab - MRSA is resistant to it therefore resistant to flucloxacillin

Question 3

CPE:

Enterobacterales:

• Gram?
• Where do they live?
• Examples - 2

How are they resistant?

Answer 3

Gram negative

Gut

E. coli
Klebsiella

CPE produce carbapenemase enzyme that breaks down carbapenem

Carbapenems are a very broad spec AB that can resist most of the enzymes that bactria produce to break down ABs

Question 4

How can someone contract MRSA and CPE usually?

Answer 4

From healthcare settings = also screened on arrival to hospital

Question 5

MRSA screening:

What colour swab is used for culture?

What part of the body should be swabbed?

Answer 5

Charcoal swab (black top) for CULTURE

Nose (both)
Throat (back of throat)
Groin (perineum)
Any wound sites or device sites

Swabs are plated onto MRSA selective agar and incubated
This agar contains an indicator dye so Staph aureus colonies are green (other skin organisms will be white)

Question 6

CPE screening:

Where is swabbed?

What colour swab is used for PCR?

What colour swab is used for culture?

Answer 6

Rectal swab
Stool sample

PCR - red topped swab

Culture - Charcoal (black topped) swab