title: Evaluation of the VITEK 2 system for rapid identification of yeasts and yeast-like organisms.
abstract: The new VITEK 2 system is a fully automated system dedicated to the identification and susceptibility testing of microorganisms. In conjunction with the VITEK ID-YST card the VITEK 2 system allows the identification of clinically important yeasts and yeast-like organisms in 15 h due to a sensitive fluorescence-based technology. The ID-YST card consists of 47 biochemical reactions. The database comprises 51 taxa, including newly described species. In this study we evaluated the reliability of the VITEK ID-YST card for the identification of yeasts and yeast-like organisms encountered in a clinical microbiology laboratory. A total of 241 strains representing 21 species were studied. The strains were isolated from clinical samples within a period of 60 days prior to the identification. The tests were performed using 24-h to 55-h subcultures on Sabouraud-gentamicin-chloramphenicol agar. Each strain was tested in parallel using the ID 32C strip as a comparison method combined with microscopic morphology and an agglutination test for C. krusei. Overall, 222 strains (92.1%) were unequivocally identified including 11 isolates (4.6%) identified with low discrimination resolved by simple additional tests. Ten strains (4. 1%) for which results were given with low discrimination could not be unequivocally identified with supplemental tests, 4 strains (1. 7%) were misidentified and 5 strains (2.1%) could not be identified. In conclusion, we found that the VITEK 2 system is a rapid and accurate method for the identification of medically important yeasts and yeast-like organisms.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany. barbara.graf@charite.de
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Graf
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zill
authors.forename: U B
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Göbel
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D002175:Candida / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019992:Databases as Topic; D006801:Humans; D009172:Mycology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015003:Yeasts / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*