What happens during a MRSA test?
A health care provider will take a fluid sample from your wound, nose, blood, or urine. Steps may include the following:
Wound sample:
A provider will use a special swab to collect a sample from the site of your wound.
Nasal swab:
A provider will put a special swab inside each nostril and twirl it around to collect the sample.
Blood test:
A provider will take a sample of blood from a vein in your arm.
Urine test:
You will provide a sterile sample of urine in a cup, as instructed by your health care provider.
After your test, your sample will be sent to a lab for testing. Most tests take 24-48 hours to get results. That's because it takes time to grow enough bacteria to be detected. But a new test, called the cobas vivoDx MRSA test, can deliver results much faster. The test, which is done on nasal swabs, can find MRSA bacteria in as little as five hours.
Talk to your health care provider to see if this new test would be a good choice for you.
