[Utilization of tomato juice agar (V8 agar) in the presumptive identification of Candida dubliniensis]

We evaluated the capacity of tomato juice agar (V8 agar) to differentiate Candida dubliniensis from Candida albicans based on chlamydospore production. Candida albicans (n= 93) and Candida dubliniensis (n= 26) were studied; 100% of Candida dubliniensis showed chlamydospores and in 92.5% of Candida albicans isolates these elements were absent. These results suggest this medium as an alternative tool for presumptive differentiation between these species.