Establishing quality control ranges for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus: a cornerstone to develop reference strains for Korean clinical microbiology laboratories.
Quality control (QC) processes are being performed in the majority of clinical microbiology laboratories to ensure the performance of microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by using ATCC strains. To obtain these ATCC strains, some inconveniences are encountered concerning the purchase cost of the strains and the shipping time required. This study was focused on constructing a database of reference strains for QC processes using domestic bacterial strains, concentrating primarily on antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Three strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus) that showed legible results in preliminary testing were selected. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and zone diameters (ZDs) of eight antimicrobials for each strain were determined according to the CLSI M23. All resulting MIC and ZD ranges included at least 95% of the data. The ZD QC ranges obtained by using the CLSI method were less than 12 mm, and the MIC QC ranges extended no more than five dilutions. This study is a preliminary attempt to construct a bank of Korean QC strains. With further studies, a positive outcome toward cost and time reduction can be anticipated.
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Sung Kuk
SK
Hong
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Seung Jun
SJ
Choi
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Saeam
S
Shin
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
Wonmok
W
Lee
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Naina
N
Pinto
Division of High-risk Pathogen Research, Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Osong, Korea.
Nari
N
Shin
Division of High-risk Pathogen Research, Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Osong, Korea.
Kwangjun
K
Lee
Department of Laboratory Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Korea.
Seong Geun
SG
Hong
Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
Young Ah
YA
Kim
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University International St. Mary's Hospital, Incheon, Korea.
Hyukmin
H
Lee
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Heejung
H
Kim
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Wonkeun
W
Song
Seegene Medical Foundation, Seoul, Korea.
Sun Hwa
SH
Lee
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. deyong@yuhs.ac.
Dongeun
D
Yong
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kyungwon
K
Lee
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yunsop
Y
Chong
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D044466:Asian People; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D011786:Quality Control; D012016:Reference Values; D056910:Republic of Korea; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
Agar dilution test; Antimicrobial susceptibility test; Clinical microbiology laboratory; Disk diffusion test; Quality control; Reference strain