title: Comparison of microdilution method and E-test procedure in susceptibility testing of caspofungin against Candida non-albicans species.
abstract: It is widely known that systemic and mucosal candidiasis caused by Candida non-albicans strains endangers the lives of hospitalised patients since these pathogens are extremely difficult to defeat by commonly used antifungal agents. The present study determined the in vitro activities of a novel antimicotic drug - caspofungin - against 76 Candida non-albicans isolates by means of the CLSI reference method for broth dilution antifungal susceptibility testing of yeasts and the E-test procedure for comparison. Caspofungin was efficacious against the majority of strains tested, with the average MICs90 evaluated by the microdilution method and E-tests amounting to 1 mg/l and 0.5 mg/l, respectively. Since the agreement between MICs within +/-2 dilutions obtained by these two techniques was 92% (Kappa coefficient of 0.92), the E-test procedure seems to be a reliable alternative to the broth microdilution method and may provide another choice for clinical laboratories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serefko
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Los
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biernasiuk
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology; D000077336:Caspofungin; D054714:Echinocandins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D055666:Lipopeptides; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D054714:Echinocandins; D055666:Lipopeptides; D000077336:Caspofungin