MRSA/MSSA, VRE, ESBL/CRE SCREENING

Question 1

what specimens are appropriate for testing multi-drug resistant bacteria?

Answer 1

-swab of left and right nares
-rectal swabs

Question 2

what are nasal swabs used to detect?

Answer 2

MRSA
MSSA

Question 3

what are rectal swabs used to detect?

Answer 3

-VRE
-CRE
-ESBLs

Question 4

what culture methods are used to detect multi-drug resistance?

Answer 4

-Chromagar (MRSA, MSSA) + oxacillin disk
-Bile esculin (Vanco infused)
-Third-generation cephalosporin and clavulanic acid disks on Mueller–Hinton agar (ESBL testing)
-Chromogenic agar (CRE)

Question 5

molecular testing is advantageous and used for which organisms?

Answer 5

-MRSA
-VRE
-ESBLs
-CRE

Question 6

Antibiotic-resistant
organisms are molecularly detected by

Answer 6

their expression of specific genes that are responsible for
their resistance

Question 7

how is MRSA differentiated from MSSA?

Answer 7

presence of mecA gene

Question 8

how is VRE detected?

Answer 8

presence of vanA gene

Question 9

how is CRE detected?

Answer 9

by nucleic acid amplification

Question 10

what are examples of hospital-acquired infections?

Answer 10

• Surgical or invasive device implantation site
• Central line-associated bloodstream infections
• Catheter-associated UTIs
• Ventilator-associated pneumonia
• Contact with healthcare workers’ or visitors’ contaminated hands.