title: [Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacteria isolated from animals: methods for in-vitro susceptibility testing and their suitability with regard to the generation of the most useful data for therapeutic applications].
abstract: In-vitro susceptibility testing provides valuable informations for choosing the most suitable antimicrobial agent for the control of bacterial infections in animals. Different diffusion and dilution methods, as conducted according to various approved performance standards, can be used to determine the in-vitro susceptibility of bacterial pathogens. In the present article, problems are discussed which arise from the use of different methods and the difficulty to interpret such results. While most approved performance standards were designed for testing of bacteria from human sources, the NCCLS document M31-A2 exclusively focusses on susceptibility testing of bacteria isolated from animals and--in contrast to all other standards--includes veterinary specific breakpoints for a number of antimicrobial agents used in veterinary medicine. Therefore, performance of in-vitro susceptibility testing of veterinary pathogens should follow the recommendations given in the NCCLS document M31-A2. The microdilution method is recommended as the method of choice for susceptibility testing. The result of a microdilution test is given as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). This value provides a quantitative result which precisely indicates the degree of susceptibility of the tested bacterial strain and in return gives the veterinarian a clear guidance whether therapeutic intervention with the antibiotic in question will be successful.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Tierzucht, Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft (FAL), Neustadt-Mariensee. stefan.schwarz@fal.de
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böttner
authors.forename: Hafez M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hafez
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kehrenberg
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kietzmann
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klarmann
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krabisch
authors.forename: Tilman
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kühn
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luhofer
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Traeder
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Waldmann
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wallmann
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Werckenthin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000662:veterinary; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents