Predictive characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nares screening tests for methicillin resistance among S. aureus clinical isolates from hospitalized veterans.

: For patients with possible Staphylococcus aureus infection, providers must decide whether to treat empirically for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Nares MRSA colonization screening tests could inform decisions regarding empiric MRSA-active antibiotic use.1,2.