Typing of Nosocomial Outbreaks of Acinetobacter baumanniiby Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACTMatrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been evaluated for the identification of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumanniinosocomial outbreaks in comparison with the repetitive sequence-based PCR DiversiLab system. The results suggest that MALDI-TOF MS can be used for real-time detection of Acinetobacteroutbreaks before results from DNA-based systems are available.