Previous Article | Next Article 
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2002, p. 2953-2958, Vol. 40, No. 8
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.8.2953-2958.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Multicenter Comparative Evaluation of Six Commercial Systems and the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards M27-A Broth Microdilution Method for Fluconazole Susceptibility Testing of Candida Species
G. Morace,1* G. Amato,2 F. Bistoni,3 G. Fadda,4 P. Marone,5 M. T. Montagna,6 S. Oliveri,7 L. Polonelli,8 R. Rigoli,9 I. Mancuso,10 S. La Face,10 L. Masucci,4 L. Romano,4 C. Napoli,6 D. Tatò,6 M. G. Buscema,7 C. M. C. Belli,2 M. M. Piccirillo,2 S. Conti,8 S. Covan,8 F. Fanti,8 C. Cavanna,5 F. D'Alò,3 and L. Pitzurra3
Istituto di Microbiologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan,1
Laboratorio di Patologia Clinica, Azienda Ospedaliera di Rilievo Nazionale, Cardarelli, Naples,2
Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, Sezione di Microbiologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia,3
Istituto di Microbiologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome,4
Laboratorio di Batteriologia e Micologia, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, San Matteo, Pavia,5
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Medicina Pubblica, Sezione di Igiene, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari,6
Dipartimento di Scienze Microbiologiche e Scienze Ginecologiche, Sezione di Microbiologia, Università degli Studi di Catania, Catania,7
Dipartimento di Patologia e Medicina di Laboratorio, Sezione di Microbiologia, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma,8
Laboratorio di Microbiologia, Ospedale Ca' Foncello, Treviso,9
Pfizer Italia SpA, Rome, Italy,10
Received 20 February 2002/
Returned for modification 18 April 2002/
Accepted 27 May 2002
Fluconazole susceptibility among 800 clinical Candida isolates (60% C. albicans) and two control strains (C. krusei ATCC 6258 and C. parapsilosis ATCC 22019) was tested with the NCCLS M27-A method (gold standard) and six commercial products (Candifast, disk, Etest, Fungitest, Integral System Yeasts, and Sensititre YeastOne). Results were classified as susceptible, susceptible-dose dependent, or resistant using M27-A breakpoints or, for Fungitest, Integral System Yeasts, and Candifast, as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant, according to the manufacturers' instructions. Concordance with NCCLS M27-A results was analyzed with the
2 test. Intra- and interlaboratory reproducibility was also evaluated. NCCLS M27-A (90.1%), Etest (93.1%), Sensititre YeastOne (93.1%), disk (96.7%), Fungitest (92.6%), Integral System Yeasts (40.6%), and Candifast (6.0%) classified the indicated percentages of C. albicans isolates as susceptible. Among non-C. albicans strains, the percentages of susceptible isolates were as follows: NCCLS M27-A, 74.0%; Etest, 83.8%; Sensititre YeastOne, 64.1%; disk, 60.6%; Fungitest, 76.6%; Integral System Yeasts, 28.3%; and Candifast, 27.4%. All methods except Candifast and Integral System Yeasts showed good agreement with NCCLS M27-A results for both C albicans and non-C. albicans isolates. Intralaboratory reproducibility was excellent for NCCLS M27-A, Etest, Sensititre YeastOne, disk, and Fungitest (88 to 91%). Similar results emerged from the interlaboratory reproducibility evaluation. Our findings indicate that some commercial methods can be useful for fluconazole susceptibility testing of clinical Candida isolates. Those characterized by a lack of medium standardization and/or objective interpretative criteria should be avoided. Particular caution is necessary when testing is being done for clinical and epidemiological purposes.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Istituto di Microbiologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Pascal, 36-20133 Milan, Italy. Phone: 39 02 50315065. Fax: 39 02 50315068. E-mail:
giulia.morace{at}unimi.it.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2002, p. 2953-2958, Vol. 40, No. 8
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.8.2953-2958.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Pfaller, M. A., Chaturvedi, V., Diekema, D. J., Ghannoum, M. A., Holliday, N. M., Killian, S. B., Knapp, C. C., Messer, S. A., Miskov, A., Ramani, R.
(2008). Clinical Evaluation of the Sensititre YeastOne Colorimetric Antifungal Panel for Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of the Echinocandins Anidulafungin, Caspofungin, and Micafungin. J. Clin. Microbiol.
46: 2155-2159
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pfaller, M. A., Messer, S. A., Boyken, L., Tendolkar, S., Hollis, R. J., Diekema, D. J.
(2008). Selection of a Surrogate Agent (Fluconazole or Voriconazole) for Initial Susceptibility Testing of Posaconazole against Candida spp.: Results from a Global Antifungal Surveillance Program. J. Clin. Microbiol.
46: 551-559
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pfaller, M. A., Diekema, D. J., Procop, G. W., Rinaldi, M. G.
(2007). Multicenter Comparison of the VITEK 2 Antifungal Susceptibility Test with the CLSI Broth Microdilution Reference Method for Testing Amphotericin B, Flucytosine, and Voriconazole against Candida spp.. J. Clin. Microbiol.
45: 3522-3528
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pfaller, M. A., Diekema, D. J., Procop, G. W., Rinaldi, M. G.
(2007). Multicenter Comparison of the VITEK 2 Yeast Susceptibility Test with the CLSI Broth Microdilution Reference Method for Testing Fluconazole against Candida spp.. J. Clin. Microbiol.
45: 796-802
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Espinel-Ingroff, A., Barchiesi, F., Cuenca-Estrella, M., Fothergill, A., Pfaller, M. A., Rinaldi, M., Rodriguez-Tudela, J. L., Verweij, P. E.
(2005). Comparison of Visual 24-Hour and Spectrophotometric 48-Hour MICs to CLSI Reference Microdilution MICs of Fluconazole, Itraconazole, Posaconazole, and Voriconazole for Candida spp.: a Collaborative Study. J. Clin. Microbiol.
43: 4535-4540
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pina-Vaz, C., Costa-de-Oliveira, S., Rodrigues, A. G., Espinel-Ingroff, A.
(2005). Comparison of Two Probes for Testing Susceptibilities of Pathogenic Yeasts to Voriconazole, Itraconazole, and Caspofungin by Flow Cytometry. J. Clin. Microbiol.
43: 4674-4679
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pfaller, M. A., Espinel-Ingroff, A., Jones, R. N.
(2004). Clinical Evaluation of the Sensititre YeastOne Colorimetric Antifungal Plate for Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of the New Triazoles Voriconazole, Posaconazole, and Ravuconazole. J. Clin. Microbiol.
42: 4577-4580
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pfaller, M. A., Hazen, K. C., Messer, S. A., Boyken, L., Tendolkar, S., Hollis, R. J., Diekema, D. J.
(2004). Comparison of Results of Fluconazole Disk Diffusion Testing for Candida Species with Results from a Central Reference Laboratory in the ARTEMIS Global Antifungal Surveillance Program. J. Clin. Microbiol.
42: 3607-3612
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Linares, M. J., Charriel, G., Solis, F., Casal, M.
(2004). Comparison of Two Microdilution Methods for Testing Susceptibility of Candida spp. to Voriconazole. J. Clin. Microbiol.
42: 899-902
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Girmenia, C., Pizzarelli, G., D'Antonio, D., Cristini, F., Martino, P.
(2003). In Vitro Susceptibility Testing of Geotrichum capitatum: Comparison of the E-Test, Disk Diffusion, and Sensititre Colorimetric Methods with the NCCLS M27-A2 Broth Microdilution Reference Method. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
47: 3985-3988
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pfaller, M. A., Diekema, D. J., Boyken, L., Messer, S. A., Tendolkar, S., Hollis, R. J.
(2003). Evaluation of the Etest and Disk Diffusion Methods for Determining Susceptibilities of 235 Bloodstream Isolates of Candida glabrata to Fluconazole and Voriconazole. J. Clin. Microbiol.
41: 1875-1880
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Maxwell, M. J., Messer, S. A., Hollis, R. J., Boyken, L., Tendolkar, S., Diekema, D. J., Pfaller, M. A.
(2003). Evaluation of Etest Method for Determining Fluconazole and Voriconazole MICs for 279 Clinical Isolates of Candida Species Infrequently Isolated from Blood. J. Clin. Microbiol.
41: 1087-1090
[Abstract]
[Full Text]