title: Multicenter comparison of the VITEK 2 yeast susceptibility test with the CLSI broth microdilution reference method for testing fluconazole against Candida spp.
abstract: A fully automated commercial antifungal susceptibility test system (VITEK 2 yeast susceptibility test; bioMerieux, Inc., Hazelwood, Mo.) was compared in three different laboratories with Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) reference broth microdilution (BMD) method by testing two quality control strains and a total of 426 isolates of Candida spp. (103 to 135 clinical isolates in each laboratory plus 80 challenge isolates in one laboratory) against fluconazole. Reference BMD MIC endpoints were established after 24 and 48 h of incubation. VITEK 2 endpoints were determined spectrophotometrically after 10 to 26 h of incubation (mean, 13 h). Excellent essential agreement (within two dilutions) between the VITEK 2 and the 24- and 48-h BMD MICs was observed. The overall agreement values were 97.9 and 93.7%, respectively. Both intra- and interlaboratory agreement was 100%. The overall categorical agreement between VITEK 2 and BMD was 97.2% at the 24-h BMD time point and 88.3% at the 48-h BMD time point. Decreased categorical agreement at 48 h was attributed to trailing growth observed with Candida glabrata. The VITEK 2 system reliably detected fluconazole resistance among Candida spp. and demonstrated excellent quantitative and qualitative agreement with the reference BMD method.
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Division, Department of Pathology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. michael-pfaller@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pfaller
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Diekema
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Procop
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology; D003470:Culture Media; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011786:Quality Control; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D015725:Fluconazole