CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Cepheid has received FDA clearance to market its Xpert MRSA/SA blood culture test, which runs on its GeneXpert system, for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and
S. aureus in blood culture bottles showing gram-positive cocci in clusters in about one hour.
Cepheid’s updated Xpert MRSA/SA BC test processes positive blood culture specimens to determine whether a patient’s blood is infected with MRSA or SA, which are frequent causes of sepsis in hospitalized patients.
“Having the capability to differentiate MRSA, S. aureus, and CoNS [coagulase-negative staphylococci] rapidly in blood culture specimens is a major responsibility of the clinical laboratory,” Fred C. Tenover, PhD, Cepheid VP of scientific affairs, said in a statement. “The clear advantage of the three-target detection algorithm in the Xpert MRSA/SA BC test is the direct identification of both MRSA and S. aureus in approximately one hour.”
Cepheid, 408-400-8377