Previous Article | Next Article 
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2001, p. 4256-4263, Vol. 39, No. 12
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.12.4256-4263.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Comparison of Spectrophotometric and Visual Readings of NCCLS
Method and Evaluation of a Colorimetric Method Based on Reduction
of a Soluble Tetrazolium Salt, 2,3-Bis
{2-Methoxy-4-Nitro-5-[(Sulfenylamino)
Carbonyl]-2H- Tetrazolium-Hydroxide}, for Antifungal
Susceptibility Testing of Aspergillus
Species
Joseph
Meletiadis,1
Johan W.
Mouton,2
Jacques F. G. M.
Meis,2
Bianca A.
Bouman,1
Peter J.
Donnelly,3
Paul E.
Verweij,1,* and
EUROFUNG
Network
Departments of Medical
Microbiology1 and
Hematology,3 University Medical Center
Nijmegen, and Department of Medical Microbiology and Regional Public
Health Laboratory, Canisius Wilhelmina
Hospital,2 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Received 20 February 2001/Returned for modification 11 April
2001/Accepted 12 September 2001
The susceptibilities of 25 clinical isolates of various
Aspergillus species (Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, A. terreus, A. ustus, and A. nidulans) to
itraconazole (ITC) and amphotericin B (AMB) were determined
using the standard proposed by NCCLS for antifungal susceptibility
testing of filamentous fungi, a modification of this method using
spectrophotometric readings, and a colorimetric method using the
tetrazolium salt 2,3-bis {2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-[(sulfenylamino) carbonyl]-2H-tetrazolium-hydroxide} (XTT). Five MIC end points for
ITC (MIC-0, no visible growth or
5% the growth control value [GC];
MIC-1, slight growth or 6 to 25% the GC; MIC-2, prominent reduction in
growth or 26 to 50% the GC; MIC-3, slight reduction in growth or 51 to
75% the GC; and MIC-4, no reduction in growth or 76 to 100% the GC)
and one for AMB (MIC-0) were determined visually by four observers and
spectrophotometrically. The intraexperimental (between the observers)
and interexperimental (between the experiments) levels of agreement of
the NCCLS and XTT methods exceeded 95% for MIC-0 of AMB and MIC-0 and
MIC-1 of ITC. The MIC-2 of ITC showed lower reproducibility, although
spectrophotometric reading and/or incubation for 48 h increased
the interexperimental reproducibility from 85 to >93%. Between visual
and spectrophotometric readings, high levels of agreement were found
for AMB (
97%) and MIC-1 (
92%) and MIC-2 (
88%) of ITC. Poor
agreement was found for MIC-0 of ITC (51% after 24 h), since the
spectrophotometric readings resulted in higher MIC-0 values than the
visual readings. The agreement was increased to 98% by shifting the
threshold level of MIC-0 from 5 to 10% relative optical density and by
establishing an optical density of greater than 0.1 for the GC as the
validation criterion. No statistically significant differences were
found between the NCCLS method and the XTT method, with the levels of agreement exceeding 97% for MIC-0 of AMB and 83% for MIC-0, MIC-1, and MIC-2 of ITC. The XTT method and spectrophotometric readings can increase the sensitivity and the precision, respectively, of in
vitro susceptibility testing of Aspergillus species.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Nijmegen, P.O. Box
9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-24-3614356. Fax: 31-24-3540216. E-mail: p.verweij{at}mmb.azn.nl.

The EUROFUNG Network consists of the following participants:
Emmanuel Roilides and Nicos Maglaveras, Aristotle University,
Thessaloniki, Greece; Tore Abrahamsen and Peter Gaustad, Rikshospitalet
National Hospital, Oslo, Norway; David W. Denning, University
of
Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; Juan L. Rodriguez-Tudela,
Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; and
George Petrikkos,
Athens University, Athens,
Greece.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2001, p. 4256-4263, Vol. 39, No. 12
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.12.4256-4263.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Shehata, A. S., Mukherjee, P. K., Ghannoum, M. A.
(2008). Comparison between the Standardized Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M38-A2 Method and a 2,3-Bis(2-Methoxy-4-Nitro-5-[(Sulphenylamino)Carbonyl]-2H-Tetrazolium Hydroxide- Based Method for Testing Antifungal Susceptibility of Dermatophytes. J. Clin. Microbiol.
46: 3668-3671
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Cota, J. M., Grabinski, J. L., Talbert, R. L., Burgess, D. S., Rogers, P. D., Edlind, T. D., Wiederhold, N. P.
(2008). Increases in SLT2 Expression and Chitin Content Are Associated with Incomplete Killing of Candida glabrata by Caspofungin. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
52: 1144-1146
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Sun, S., Li, Y., Guo, Q., Shi, C., Yu, J., Ma, L.
(2008). In Vitro Interactions between Tacrolimus and Azoles against Candida albicans Determined by Different Methods. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
52: 409-417
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Antachopoulos, C., Meletiadis, J., Sein, T., Roilides, E., Walsh, T. J.
(2008). Comparative In Vitro Pharmacodynamics of Caspofungin, Micafungin, and Anidulafungin against Germinated and Nongerminated Aspergillus Conidia. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
52: 321-328
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Mowat, E., Butcher, J., Lang, S., Williams, C., Ramage, G.
(2007). Development of a simple model for studying the effects of antifungal agents on multicellular communities of Aspergillus fumigatus. J Med Microbiol
56: 1205-1212
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Wiederhold, N. P., Najvar, L. K., Bocanegra, R., Molina, D., Olivo, M., Graybill, J. R.
(2007). In Vivo Efficacy of Anidulafungin and Caspofungin against Candida glabrata and Association with In Vitro Potency in the Presence of Sera. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
51: 1616-1620
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Antachopoulos, C., Meletiadis, J., Sein, T., Roilides, E., Walsh, T. J.
(2007). Concentration-Dependent Effects of Caspofungin on the Metabolic Activity of Aspergillus Species. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
51: 881-887
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Antachopoulos, C., Meletiadis, J., Sein, T., Roilides, E., Walsh, T. J.
(2007). Use of high inoculum for early metabolic signalling and rapid susceptibility testing of Aspergillus species. J Antimicrob Chemother
59: 230-237
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Cota, J., Carden, M., Graybill, J. R., Najvar, L. K., Burgess, D. S., Wiederhold, N. P.
(2006). In Vitro Pharmacodynamics of Anidulafungin and Caspofungin against Candida glabrata Isolates, Including Strains with Decreased Caspofungin Susceptibility. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
50: 3926-3928
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Antachopoulos, C., Meletiadis, J., Roilides, E., Sein, T., Walsh, T. J.
(2006). Rapid Susceptibility Testing of Medically Important Zygomycetes by XTT Assay. J. Clin. Microbiol.
44: 553-560
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Heyn, K., Tredup, A., Salvenmoser, S., Muller, F.-M. C.
(2005). Effect of Voriconazole Combined with Micafungin against Candida, Aspergillus, and Scedosporium spp. and Fusarium solani. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
49: 5157-5159
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
te Dorsthorst, D. T. A., Verweij, P. E., Meis, J. F. G. M., Mouton, J. W.
(2005). Relationship between In Vitro Activities of Amphotericin B and Flucytosine and pH for Clinical Yeast and Mold Isolates. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
49: 3341-3346
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Lewis, R. E., Wiederhold, N. P., Klepser, M. E.
(2005). In Vitro Pharmacodynamics of Amphotericin B, Itraconazole, and Voriconazole against Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Scedosporium spp.. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
49: 945-951
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Ahmed, A. O. A., van de Sande, W. W. J., van Vianen, W., van Belkum, A., Fahal, A. H., Verbrugh, H. A., Bakker-Woudenberg, I. A. J. M.
(2004). In Vitro Susceptibilities of Madurella mycetomatis to Itraconazole and Amphotericin B Assessed by a Modified NCCLS Method and a Viability-Based 2,3-Bis(2-Methoxy-4-Nitro-5- Sulfophenyl)-5-[(Phenylamino)Carbonyl]-2H- Tetrazolium Hydroxide (XTT) Assay. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
48: 2742-2746
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Te Dorsthorst, D. T. A., Verweij, P. E., Meis, J. F. G. M., Punt, N. C., Mouton, J. W.
(2004). In Vitro Interactions between Amphotericin B, Itraconazole, and Flucytosine against 21 Clinical Aspergillus Isolates Determined by Two Drug Interaction Models. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
48: 2007-2013
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Tunney, M. M., Ramage, G., Field, T. R., Moriarty, T. F., Storey, D. G.
(2004). Rapid Colorimetric Assay for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
48: 1879-1881
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Meletiadis, J., te Dorsthorst, D. T. A., Verweij, P. E.
(2003). Use of Turbidimetric Growth Curves for Early Determination of Antifungal Drug Resistance of Filamentous Fungi. J. Clin. Microbiol.
41: 4718-4725
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Meletiadis, J., Mouton, J. W., Meis, J. F. G. M., Verweij, P. E.
(2003). In Vitro Drug Interaction Modeling of Combinations of Azoles with Terbinafine against Clinical Scedosporium prolificans Isolates. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
47: 106-117
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Meletiadis, J., Mouton, J. W., Meis, J. F. G. M., Bouman, B. A., Verweij, P. E.
(2002). Comparison of the Etest and the Sensititre Colorimetric Methods with the NCCLS Proposed Standard for Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Aspergillus Species. J. Clin. Microbiol.
40: 2876-2885
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Verweij, P. E., Te Dorsthorst, D. T. A., Rijs, A. J. M. M., De Vries-Hospers, H. G., Meis, J. F. G. M.
(2002). Nationwide Survey of In Vitro Activities of Itraconazole and Voriconazole against Clinical Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates Cultured between 1945 and 1998. J. Clin. Microbiol.
40: 2648-2650
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Te Dorsthorst, D. T. A., Verweij, P. E., Meis, J. F. G. M., Punt, N. C., Mouton, J. W.
(2002). Comparison of Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index with Response Surface Modeling for Characterization of In Vitro Interaction of Antifungals against Itraconazole-Susceptible and -Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
46: 702-707
[Abstract]
[Full Text]