Comparison of efficacy of three commercially available antibiotic discs

A study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of commercially available antimicrobial discs manufactured by Oxoid, UK, HiMedia Laboratories, Mumbai and Span Diagnostics, Surat. The discs were evaluated for their performance on the basis of percentage of coefficient of variation (%CV) which is a measure of reproducibility, mean zone diameters which is a measure of accuracy and range of zone diameter using both standard ATCC strains and clinical isolates. The data showed variation for all three manufacturers and therefore routine and regular quality control of discs as well as meticulous following of good laboratory practices is strongly advocated in clinical laboratories.