Evaluation of the Etest for rapid susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium avium to clarithromycin.
MICs of clarithromycin were determined by the Etest method for thirty clinical strains of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and compared with MICs results as determined by the reference agar dilution method. Agreement (within +/- 1 log2 dilution) between the Etest and the reference method was 70% for susceptible strains and 100% for resistant strains. No major errors resulting in misclassification in susceptibility or resistance categories were detected for the Etest MIC method. It is suggested that the Etest is easy to perform and is an accurate method for determining susceptibility of MAC strains to clarithromycin.
Lebrun
L
L
Service de Bactériologie-Virologie, Hôpital Antoine Béclère, Clamart, France.
Onody
C
C
Vincent
V
V
Nordmann
P
P
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D009162:Mycobacterium avium / Q000187:drug effects*; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D017291:Clarithromycin