HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Piens, M A Articles by Freydiére, A M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Piens, M A Articles by Freydiére, A M

Routine use of a one minute trehalase and maltase test for the identification of Candida glabrata in four laboratories

¹ Laboratoire de Parasitologie Mycologie Médicale, 69373 Lyon, France
² Microbiology Department, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN, UK
³ Laboratoire de Parasitologie Mycologie, Hôpital Nord, 42055 St Etienne, France
⁴ Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Debrousse, 69322 Lyon, France

Correspondence to:
Dr A-M Freydiére, Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Debrousse, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 29 Rue Sur Bouvier, 69322 Lyon cedex 05, France;
anne-marie.freydiere{at}chu-lyon.fr Aims: To evaluate the rapid identification of Candida glabrata using a one minute trehalase and maltase test in four clinical laboratories.

Method: The test was evaluated with 944 freshly isolated yeasts comprising 572 C glabrata and 372 non-C glabrata strains. These strains were isolated on one of three differential media—Candida ID, CHROMagar Candida, or Albicans ID2 medium—and all strains were fully identified using standard methods.

Results: The trehalase and maltase test allowed the overall identification of 550 of 572 C glabrata strains (sensitivity, 96.2%) and only 11 of 372 isolates of other yeast species yielded a false positive result (specificity, 96.8 %). Sensitivity and specificity were consistent from one laboratory to another. Using Candida ID medium, the rapid trehalase and maltase test showed a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 96.2%. Using CHROMagar Candida, sensitivity and specificity were 95.6% and 98.1%, respectively. Using Albicans ID2 medium (tested by two laboratories), the sensitivity was 100% and 98.5% and specificity was 98.1% and 98.2%. In 60% of cases, the test could be performed directly from the primary isolation medium, thus reducing the time for identification.

Conclusion: The rapid trehalase and maltase test was highly reliable for the presumptive identification of C glabrata on primary isolation using three different chromogenic media. Direct recognition of C albicans by means of their characteristic colour on chromogenic media coupled with one minute trehalase maltase testing performed only on suspect colonies of C glabrata allowed for rapid presumptive identification of the two yeast species most commonly encountered in clinical samples.

Keywords: Candida glabrata; chromogenic media; trehalase; rapid identification

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. M. Freydiere, J. D. Perry, O. Faure, B. Willinger, A. M. Tortorano, A. Nicholson, J. Peman, and P. E. Verweij Routine Use of a Commercial Test, GLABRATA RTT, for Rapid Identification of Candida glabrata in Six Laboratories J. Clin. Microbiol., October 1, 2004; 42(10): 4870 - 4872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]