Evaluation of Six Commercial Tests and the Germ-Tube Test for Presumptive Identification of Candida albicans

Abstract

 Six commercial tests (Albicans ID®, bioMérieux, France; CandiSelect®, Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, France; CHROMagar®Candida, Becton Dickinson, USA; Fluoroplate®Candida, Merck, Germany; Fongiscreen® 4H, Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur; and Murex Candida albicans, Murex Diagnostics, USA) and the germ-tube test for presumptive identification of Candida albicans were evaluated using clinical isolates of Candida albicans (n=350) and of non-albicans yeasts (n=135). Sensitivities and specificities of all tests regarding the identification of Candida albicans were greater than 97%. The two tests that also allow presumptive identification of some non-albicans yeasts (CHROMagar®Candida and Fongiscreen® 4H) did not identify all isolates of Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis. In addition, CHROMagar®Candida identified as Candida glabrata some isolates belonging to different species of non-albicans yeasts.