IDENTIFICATION OF CANDIDA - EXPERIENCES W ITH THE VITEK(R) SYSTEM

We report about our experiences obtained with the Vitek(R)system (bioM erieux, Nurtingen) for identification of 1160 clinical Candida isolate s. The Vitek(R)system correctly identified 1005 (86,6%) Candida isolat es (probability greater than or equal to 85%): 776 (66,9%) strains wer e identified after 24 h of incubation, 229 (19,7%) required 48 h of in cubation. In 4,4% (n = 51) we found results with a lower probability ( < 85%). After 24 h of incubation 38 (14,6%) of the 260 C. tropicalis i solates tested were misidentified as C. parapsilosis; we obtained the correct results after 48 h of incubation. 104 (9%) isolates were wrong ly identified after 48 h of incubation. The majority of these strains (n = 82) were biochemically minimally reactive Candida species. Overal l, the Yeast Biochemical Card system provides a reliable method for th e rapid, automated identification of medically important Candida speci es.