A Medical Device Daily

bioMerieux (Durham, North Carolina), a maker of in vitro diagnostics, reported the U.S. launch of chromID MRSA. The product recently received FDA clearance for the detection of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), one of the most pervasive sources for high-morbidity healthcare-associated infections (HAI) in U.S. hospitals.

"According to CDC data, invasive MRSA infections occur in approximately 94,000 people annually and cause as many as 9,000 deaths per year," said Herb Steward, GM and executive VP, bioMerieux North America. "Helping healthcare facilities to cost-effectively detect antibiotic-resistant strains with improved accuracy can play a critical role in the bigger picture of decreasing MRSA-related nosocomial infections," said Steward.

The company says that chromID MRSA simplifies the detection of MRSA, enabling more economical implementation of adapted prevention measures. chromID MRSA agar is a selective and differential chromogenic medium for the qualitative detection of nasal colonization of MRSA. This tool aids in the prevention and control of MRSA infections in healthcare settings. bioMerieux's chromID MRSA has been widely adopted throughout Europe over the past few years, leading to more than two dozen publications in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences.

A recent study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases examined the hospital and societal costs of antimicrobial-resistant infections (ARIs) in a Chicago teaching hospital. Nearly half (43%) of the patients with antibiotic-resistant infections in the study had an infection due to MRSA. The paper also discussed the need for a more comprehensive evaluation of the cost of resistance and the potential economic benefits of prevention programs like antibiotic stewardship.