Validation of quality assurance criteria for rectal surveillance cultures

We aimed to validate quality assurance (QA) criteria for rectal surveillance cultures (RSCs) for extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. QA for RSCs were tested by observing the presence or absence of fecal soiling and by examining the growth of Enterobacteriaceae on MacConkey agar. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae were detected in 136 out of 434 soiled swabs (31.3%) and in 61 out of 257 nonsoiled swabs (23.7%) (P =.036). Observation of fecal soiling on RSCs can serve as a simple QA criterion and prevent the reporting of false-negative results.