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Comparison of E-test with agar dilution for determining susceptibility ofStreptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin

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Abstract

Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of penicillin forStreptococcus pneumoniae were determined by the E-test and the agar dilution method. NinetyStreptococcus pneumoniae strains were tested, of which 16 were resistant, 33 intermediate, and 41 susceptible by agar dilution. By the E-test, 80 (88.9%) strains agreed with these determinations within one log2 dilution step, and no strains disagreed by more than two dilution steps. Sixty-eight of the 70 strains with discrepant MICs read lower in the E-test, resulting in 15 strains being placed in different susceptibility categories when classified by this test. Exact MICs rather than classification groups should be used to determine appropriate antibiotic therapy, since small differences in MICs determined by different methods can lead to a significant degree of misclassification.

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Author notes

  1. O. Scheel

    Present address: Department of Infectious Disease Control, National Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 4404 Torshov, 0403, Oslo, Norway

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong

    O. Scheel, D. J. Lyon & A. F. B. Cheng

  2. Department of Microbiology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    D. N. C. Tsang

Authors
  1. O. Scheel
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  2. D. J. Lyon
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  3. D. N. C. Tsang
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  4. A. F. B. Cheng
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Scheel, O., Lyon, D.J., Tsang, D.N.C. et al. Comparison of E-test with agar dilution for determining susceptibility ofStreptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 16, 608–610 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02447927

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