Background Choosing a unique empiric treatment for ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) can be challenging. We aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the only referral pediatric hospital in Isfahan in order to design the optimal empiric treatment protocol. Materials and Methods: </strong...

The ability of Sensititre YeastOne to discriminate isolates with reduced caspofungin susceptibility was determined against 36 Candida spp. (6 with a known FKS1 mutation). Results were compared with those of M27-A2. The MIC endpoint was 100% growth inhibition. Overall agreement (+/-2 log2) was 87.16%. Sensititre YeastOne detected strains with reduced caspofungin susceptibility.

We have found that amphotericin B is unstable in two commonly employed fungal culture media. This instability leads to inaccuracies in determining the actual level of susceptibility of slow-growing strains that require prolonged incubation for growth. To help compensate for this problem, we have described two rapid methods of susceptibility testing.

This paper demonstrates a facile method of generating precise serial dilutions in the form of droplets on an open surface platform. The method relies on the use of surface energy traps (SETs), etched areas of high surface energy on a Teflon coated glass substrate, to assist in the magnetic manipulation of droplets to meter and dispense liquid of defined volumes for the preparation of serial dil...

Infectious diseases are a major threat to humanity, and accurate surveillance is essential. We describe how to implement a laboratory data-based surveillance system in a clinical microbiology laboratory. Two historical Microsoft Excel databases were implemented. The data were then sorted and used to execute the following 2 surveillance systems in Excel: the Bacterial real-time Laboratory-based ...

Quality control ranges were developed for broth microdilution testing of Campylobacter jejuni ATCC 33560 against 14 antimicrobials. Cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth containing 2.5% laked horse blood was the preferred medium, with incubation in a microaerobic atmosphere of 10% CO(2), 5% O(2), and 85% N(2) at 36 degrees C for 48 h or 42 degrees C for 24 h.

This three-center collaborative study was conducted to evaluate samples of the Microbial Profile System (MPS) antimicrobial microdilution panels [previously produced by Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., (3M Co.), St. Paul, Minn. and currently produced by Flow Laboratories, Inc., Rockville, Md.). This was a three-phase study. In phase I, the inter- and intralaboratory agreement was determine...

This is the first reported case of endocarditis due to the Lactobacillus-like vancomycin-resistant gram-positive bacillus Weissella confusa. Full identification and susceptibility testing of Lactobacillus-like organisms recovered in blood culture should be performed for patients with clinical presentations that suggest endocarditis.

The posaconazole MIC(90) for 1,903 yeast isolates from France was 1 microg/ml (range, < or =0.015 to 8 microg/ml). Ninety percent of isolates with fluconazole MICs of > or =8 microg/ml (n = 509) and 90% of those with voriconazole MICs of > or =2 microg/ml (n = 80) were inhibited by 2 and 8 microg/ml of posaconazole, respectively.

The purpose of undertaking susceptibility testing, by whatever method, is to attempt to integrate the susceptibility of a population of potential pathogens with the pharmacokinetics of the antimicrobial and, whenever possible, to review this relationship in the light of clinical experience following therapy in clinical trials. Breakpoints are discriminatory antimicrobial concentrations used in ...