Antimycrobial Susceptibility Testing

An improved formulation has been developed for MicroScan dried Gram-positive overnight antimicrobial susceptibility test panels. The new formulation has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Dade Behring (Deerfield, IL, USA) is now offering this automated system for the improved detection of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) because of the increasing resistance of S aureus strains.

"Our research team knows how critical this issue is to clinicians and their patients; we understand that vancomycin continues to be a critical antimicrobial agent for treating infections caused by S aureus strains that are resistant to the penicillins and other microbial agents,” explained Barbara Zimmer, Ph.D., director of clinical and scientific affairs, Dade Behring, MicroScan.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA; www.cdc.gov), S aureus should be tested for resistance to vancomycin using a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. All of Dade Behring's MicroScan testing panels are based on the MIC method, which is considered to be the most sensitive method to determine susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. To date, four strains of vancomycin-resistant S aureus have been reported. Dade Behring has continued to detect these strains due to the accuracy of the company's MicroScan automated system.



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