Rapid identification of Staphylococcus aureus in blood cultures by use of the direct tube coagulase test.

Direct tube coagulase testing for identification of Staphylococcus aureus from BACTEC culture broth showed a sensitivity, a specificity, and positive and negative predicative values of 34%, 100%, 100%, and 80.2% with 2 h of incubation and 65%, 98.7, 99.7%, and 88.6% with 4 h of incubation. Anaerobic blood culture contributed significantly to the detection of S. aureus.