Objectives Evaluation of the LightMix® modular carbapenemase kits for the rapid detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) and the application of these kits to the direct detection of colonized patients and bacteraemias. Methods The modular multiplex PCR kits targeting bla , bla , bla , bla and bla -like carbapenem resistance genes were evaluated in terms of sensitivity and specificity for carbapenemase resistance in a set of 118 labelled clinical isolates.