Improved Performance of a Rapid Immunochromatographic Assay for Detection of PBP2a in Non-Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcal Species

Non- Staphylococcus aureus staphylococcal species (non-SASS) are important pathogens in both animal and human populations. The development of β-lactam resistance in non-SASS through acquisition and expression of penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a) represents a significant clinical and public health threat. Here, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of two versions of a PBP2a immunochromatographic assay with non-SASS. Our data show that the revised version of the assay, the PBP2a SA culture colony test, has superior diagnostic sensitivity compared to the previous version of the assay, the PBP2a culture colony test, 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 93.3 to 100%) versus 67.9% (95% CI, 53.7 to 80.1%), respectively, while both assays display a specificity of 100% (95% CI, 92.5 to 100%). Therefore, the PBP2a SA culture colony test offers a rapid, accurate, and relatively inexpensive method for detecting PBP2a-mediated β-lactam resistance in clinically relevant non-SASS for the management of infections due to these organisms and for antimicrobial stewardship.