American Society for Microbiology, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 8(38), p. 2949-2954, 2000
DOI: 10.1128/jcm.38.8.2949-2954.2000
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ABSTRACT The susceptibility of 30 clinical isolates belonging to six different species of filamentous fungi ( Aspergillus fumigatus , Aspergillus flavus , Scedosporium prolificans , Scedosporium apiospermum , Fusarium solani , and Fusarium oxysporum ) was tested against six antifungal drugs (miconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, UR9825, terbinafine, and amphotericin B) with the microdilution method recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) (M38-P). The MICs were compared with the MICs obtained by a colorimetric method measuring the reduction of the dye 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) to formazan by viable fungi. The levels of agreement between the two methods were 96 and 92% for MIC-0 (clear wells) and MIC-1 (75% growth reduction), respectively. The levels of agreement were always higher for Aspergillus spp. (97% ± 2.5%), followed by Scedosporium spp. (87% ± 10.3%) and Fusarium spp. (78% ± 7.8%). The NCCLS method was more reproducible than the MTT method: 98 versus 95% for MIC-0 and 97 versus 90% for MIC-1. However, the percentage of hyphal growth as determined visually by the NCCLS method showed several discrepancies when they were compared with the percentages of MTT reduction. A new simplified assay that incorporates the dye MTT with the initial inoculum and in which the fungi are incubated with the dye for 48 h or more was developed, showing comparable levels of agreement and reproducibility with the other two methods. Furthermore, the new assay was easier to perform and more sensitive than the MTT method.