Limitations of vitek GPS-418 cards in exact detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci with the vanB genotype

The susceptibilities of 20 strains of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) with the vanB genotype obtained by using Vitek GPS-418 cards were compared with those obtained by the broth dilution method of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) (approved standard M7-A4) and with those obtained by the agar screen method using bile esculin azide agar containing 6 microgram of vancomycin per ml. Although both the broth dilution and agar screen methods disclosed no discordance, Vitek GPS-418 cards yielded a very major error compared with the results obtained by the reference broth dilution method of the NCCLS. Vitek GPS-418 cards were therefore found to have considerable room for improvement for the accurate detection of vanB VRE strains.