We tested a phenyl mannitol broth containing ceftizoxime and aztreonam (PHMB ؉ ) for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with reference MRSA strains and, subsequently, with clinical samples (n ؍ 1,098). All reference MRSA strains induced color change in PHMB ؉ after 24 to 72 h of incubation. In a clinical setting, 40 MRSA strains were detected with PHMB ؉ , compared with only 23 detected with a routine method. Thus, this selective broth significantly (P < 0.001) improved the rate of MRSA detection.Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical samples continues to be important, since infections due to MRSA have high morbidity and mortality rates. Moreover, some MRSA strains have the potential to spread rapidly and colonize in other patients. In The Netherlands, therefore, patients who are suspected of being MRSA carriers are isolated until screening cultures are repeatedly negative for MRSA. Methods to detect MRSA in clinical samples ideally should have high sensitivity and a short time to reporting the results. To increase the sensitivity, one can simply take more screening samples on the same day or on consecutive days, but this method is more cumbersome and increase the time to reporting. Another way to increase the sensitivity is to use a broth in addition to agar plates, as was demonstrated previously (1, 3, 11; R. L. Sautter and L. W. Wells, Letter, J. Clin. Microbiol. 28:2380-2381, 1990; M. L. Van Ogtrop, Letter, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 39:2169, 1995). To increase the sensitivity of the detection of MRSA from a single sample and to improve laboratory efficiency, we developed a new selective broth containing phenol red, mannitol, aztreonam, and ceftizoxime (PHMB ϩ ). First, we tested the broth with laboratory reference strains. Subsequently, we compared our routine method of direct plating of specimens onto blood agar plates and mannitol salt agars with the new selective broth combined with a blood agar plate.The PHMB ϩ was made by mixing 21 mg of dehydrated phenol red mannitol broth (Becton Dickinson, Le Pont de Claix, France) with 1,000 ml of distilled water, sterilizing the broth for 15 min at 121°C, and letting it cool to room temperature. We then mixed 5 mg of ceftizoxime (Yamanouchi) with 5 ml of distilled water and added the solution to the broth at a concentration of 5 g of ceftizoxime per ml. Next, we mixed 75 mg of aztreonam (Bristol-Myers Squibb) with 5 ml of distilled water, filtered the solution through an FP 030/2 filter (Schleicher & Schuell), and added it to the broth at a concentration of 75 g of aztreonam per ml. Finally, we filled sterile tubes with 8 ml of PHMB ϩ and stored them at 4°C in the dark. (The broth has a shelf life of at least 4 weeks.)We tested the PHMB ϩ with five different MRSA and five different methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strains isolated from patients. Methicillin resistance was confirmed by MecA PCR according to the method described by Murakami et al. (9). At first, all 10 strains were subcult...