[Comparative study of two systems for the determination of the sensitivity of yeasts to antifungal agents].

One hundred yeast strains (including 60 Candida albicans) were tested in two laboratories using two different antifungal susceptibility test kits, ATB Fungus and Mycostandard. Tests were carried out under everyday work conditions. Four antifungal agents were compared: amphotericin B, flucytosine, miconazole, and ketoconazole. Results were discrepant in 19.2% (77/400) of cases. Following retesting of discordant cases with both kits, the agreement rate for strain characterization was 95.5%. Few discrepancies were seen with flucytosine. Conflicting results obtained with amphotericin B were due to poor reproducibility of Mycostandard results, especially for species other than C. albicans. In contrast, reproducibility of the ATB Fungus kit was inadequate for miconazole. The rate of discrepant results was greatest for ketoconazole. Intermediate susceptibility was seen more often with ATB Fungus for C. albicans and with Mycostandard for C. glabrata and C. krusei. The lack of reproducibility under routine working conditions should lead gallery manufacturers to strive to achieve clearer readings.