Open AccessDetection of methicillin-resistance gene in Staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from patients in Al-Zahra Hospital using polymerase chain reaction and minimum inhibitory concentration methods
Author(s) -
E Pishva,
Seyed Asghar Havaei,
Firouz Arsalani,
Tahmineh Narimani,
Amir Azimian,
Mojtaba Akbari
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced biomedical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2277-9175
DOI - 10.4103/2277-9175.108008
Subject(s) - staphylococcus epidermidis , microbiology and biotechnology , minimum inhibitory concentration , polymerase chain reaction , sccmec , serial dilution , medicine , antibiotics , gene , biology , methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus , staphylococcus aureus , bacteria , genetics , pathology , alternative medicine
Background: In recent years, antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus epidermidis to methicillin has significantly increased, making it essential to study resistance to methicillin, which is a determining factor in the appropriate treatment pattern. The purpose of this study was to identify methicillin-resistant genes in S. epidermidis strains using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and to determine their mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to methicillin using E-test method. Materials and Methods: MIC was determined on 146 samples of S. epidermidis using E-test method. Moreover, all samples were tested for the presence of mecA gene using PCR. Results: PCR test showed 75.34% of the samples to contain mecA gene. Methicillin resistance test was performed using E-test on all the samples, which showed resistance in different dilutions.Conclusion: The frequency of mecA gene in S. epidermidis isolates was 75.34%. Among the various applied tests used for determining methicillin resistance, sensitivity and specificity of PCR were the highest and reached 100%. Sensitivity and specificity were found to be 95.3% and 94.7%, respectively, for phenotypic test (E-test) and 86.5% and 80.9%, respectively, for disk diffusion method. Based on the above results, it seems that resistance of S. epidermidis to methicillin is on the rise, and therefore more research is warranted