Utility of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal PCR Testing in Pediatric Patients With Suspected Respiratory Infections

Brooke Baker; Frances Hung; Michael J Smith; Alaattin Erkanli; Katherine Greenhill; Jillian Hayes; Alice Parish; Grace Zhou; Ganga S Moorthy; Connor R Deri

doi:10.1093/jpids/piae023

Utility of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal PCR Testing in Pediatric Patients With Suspected Respiratory Infections

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2024 Apr 24;13(4):242-245. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piae023.

Authors

Brooke Baker¹, Frances Hung², Michael J Smith^{3

4}, Alaattin Erkanli², Katherine Greenhill¹, Jillian Hayes^{1

4}, Alice Parish², Grace Zhou², Ganga S Moorthy^{3

4}, Connor R Deri^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
² Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁴ Duke Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

PMID: 38466576
PMCID: PMC11040140 (available on 2025-03-11)
DOI: 10.1093/jpids/piae023

Abstract

Observational studies in adults suggest nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) swabs have a high negative predictive value (NPV) for ruling out MRSA pneumonia, however, pediatric data are limited. This retrospective study of 505 pediatric patients found a 99.8% NPV among children with suspected respiratory infections.

Keywords: MRSA; antimicrobial stewardship; children; de-escalation; nasal swab.

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MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* / genetics
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* / isolation & purification
Polymerase Chain Reaction* / methods
Predictive Value of Tests
Respiratory Tract Infections* / diagnosis
Respiratory Tract Infections* / microbiology
Retrospective Studies
Staphylococcal Infections* / diagnosis
Staphylococcal Infections* / microbiology

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding