COLONY SIZE CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE THE MIC OF FLUCONAZOLE FOR PATHOGENIC YEASTS

This report describes a new statistical method for estimating the MIC of fluconazole for yeasts pathogenic to humans. This method is based o n comparison of the colony sizes on solid media containing different c oncentrations of fluconazole. By this method, the MICs of fluconazole for 10 yeast strains were comparable to results obtained by the standa rd method recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laborator y Standards. This method is simple to perform and easy to interpret. T he turnaround time is faster than other methods. The method should be applicable to the determination MICs of other antifungal drugs for yea sts.