Does Nasal Cocolonization by Methicillin-Resistant Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci and Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Strains Occur Frequently Enough To Represent a Risk of False-Positive Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Determinations by Molecular Methods?

By analyzing the colonization of the anterior nares in cardiothoracic surgery patients on admission, nasal cocolonization by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci was detected in 8/235 (3.4%) specimens. Consequently, in a low-methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) setting, a molecular MRSA screening test targeting the mecA gene and an S. aureus-specific gene in parallel and applied directly to clinical specimens would be associated with an unacceptable positive predictive value of about 40%.