Development of a single-tube polymerase chain reaction assay for the simultaneous detection of Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus spp. directly in clinical samples.

This study describes the development and evaluation of a multiplex single-tube polymerase chain reaction assay for the simultaneous detection of Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus spp. used as target species-specific or genus-specific genes. The assay enables the detection of 5 to 50 pg of bacterial DNA. The sensitivity of the assay was evaluated as 100% for P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and Streptococcus spp., and 94.3% for H. influenzae; the specificity was 100% for all 4 microorganisms (positive predictive value, 100%; negative predictive value, 98.2%). The assay permits rapid and accurate detection of these 4 microorganisms in a wide range of clinical samples such as whole blood, cerebrospinal, ear, pleural and ophthalmic fluids, as well as bronchoalveolar lavage and bronchial secretions.