title: Disk diffusion bioassays for the detection of antibiotic activity in body fluids: applications for the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health project.
abstract: To draw inferences about the putative etiologic agents of severe pneumonia, the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project must be able to objectively assess antibiotic pretreatment in enrolled participants. This review is focused on the disk diffusion bioassay, a simple laboratory method to assess recent antibiotic treatment. In this method, a sensitive indicator organism is used to detect antimicrobial activity in body fluid specimens that have been inoculated on a filter paper disk and placed on agar growth medium. We reviewed and present several variations on the disk diffusion method as applied to serum or urine, including specimen handling, choice of indicator organism and medium, and incubation steps. Although there are limitations to the disk diffusion method, its low cost, ease of use, and ability to broadly detect antibiotic pretreatment make it an appealing method for epidemiologic studies such as PERCH.
authors.affiliation: International Vaccine Access Center, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 855 N. Wolfe St, Suite #600, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. adriscol@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Amanda J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Niranjan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: Ruth A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Karron
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Murdoch
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media