Comparison of Three Methods with CHROMagar for Surveillance Culture of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen.The purpose of this study was to determine the effective methods for performing surveillance cultures of CRAB. Methods: Nasal and rectal swabs were obtained concurrently from hospitalized intensive care unit patients colonized with CRAB. All the samples were inoculated in CHROMagar Acinetobacter medium with CR102 (CHROMagar), MacConkey agar medium supplemented with 5 μg/mL imipenem (MCA-IPM),, and triptic soy broth medium supplemented with 5μg/mL imipenem (TSB-IPM). CRAB detection rates for each sample were compared. Results: The CRAB detection rate in either one of the nasal or rectal swabs from the 37 patients tested were 89.2% (33/37) with the use of CHROMagar, 78.4% (29/37) with the use of MCA-IMP, and 86.5% (32/37) with the use of TSB-IMP. Conclusion: We determined that concurrent use of both nasal and rectal swabs and CHROMagar could be an effective method for CRAB surveillance cultures.

Keywords

• acinetobacter baumannii
• chromagar acinetobacter
• surveillance culture