Correlation between microdilution, Etest, and disk diffusion methods for antifungal susceptibility testing of fluconazole against Candida sp. blood isolates.

INTRODUCTION

Antifungal susceptibility testing assists in finding the appropriate treatment for fungal infections, which are increasingly common. However, such testing is not very widespread. There are several existing methods, and the correlation between such methods was evaluated in this study.

METHODS

The susceptibility to fluconazole of 35 strains of Candida sp. isolated from blood cultures was evaluated by the following methods: microdilution, Etest, and disk diffusion.

RESULTS

The correlation between the methods was around 90%.

CONCLUSIONS

The disk diffusion test exhibited a good correlation and can be used in laboratory routines to detect strains of Candida sp. that are resistant to fluconazole.