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Diagnosis of staphylococcal infection
Last reviewed: 03.07.2025
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Diagnosis of staphylococcal infection is based on the results of microbiological research, since clinical manifestations are nonspecific and do not allow in most cases to conduct differential diagnostics with similar clinical forms caused by other opportunistic flora.
The corresponding biosubstrates (pus, sputum, pleural exudate, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, etc.) are used for the study. The isolated culture is examined for the presence of coagulase (coagulase test), for the ability to enzymatically cleave mannitol, for the ability to synthesize thermostable DNAase, agglutinate sensitized ram erythrocytes; phage typing of the isolated strain is carried out. Express diagnostics of staphylococcal infection is based on the use of RLA. The sensitivity of the isolated strain to antibacterial drugs is necessarily determined (by the disk method or serial dilutions).
[ Differential diagnosis of staphylococcal infection
Differential diagnostics of staphylococcal infection is carried out on the basis of the results of microbiological research. Toxic shock syndrome is differentiated from septic and streptococcal toxic shock, scarlet fever, meningococcemia, rickettsial spotted fever, leptospirosis, measles, drug-induced toxicoderma.