DOI:
ABSTRACT
Six rapid agglutination tests for identification of Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated by using 62 strains of S. aureus, 63 strains of S. saprophyticus, and 67 strains of other coagulase-negative staphylococci. S. saprophyticus was responsible for 19 of 26 false-positive results and 20 uninterpretable reactions. Thus, urinary staphylococcal isolates that are positive by rapid agglutination tests may require other confirmatory tests for the identification of possible S. saprophyticus.