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Progress in standardizing antifungal susceptibility tests
1University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson.
Abstract:
In vitro tests of antifungal agents are receiving increasing attention as important procedures for the clinical laboratory. As antifungal agents proliferate, it will become more and more valuable to have available antifungal susceptibility tests to aid in treatment selections based on the specific activities of different drugs against a patient's own isolate. Evidence is accumulating that in vitro tests can significantly correlate with treatment results and thus have the potential to improve patient care. Furthermore, concerted efforts are now underway to improve agreement in test results from different laboratories. As these activities continue, the availability of reliable testing methods for yeasts is likely to occur in the foreseeable future.
Insights
Antifungal susceptibility testing is crucial for selecting effective treatments. Reliable in vitro tests correlate with patient outcomes and are expected to become widely available for yeasts soon.
Area of Science:
- Clinical microbiology
- Mycology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- In vitro antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) is gaining importance in clinical laboratories.
- The increasing number of antifungal agents necessitates methods to guide treatment selection.
- Current efforts focus on standardizing AFST to improve inter-laboratory agreement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the growing value of in vitro antifungal susceptibility tests.
- To emphasize the potential of AFST in improving patient care through personalized treatment selection.
- To discuss the ongoing efforts towards reliable and standardized antifungal testing methods.
Main Methods:
- The abstract discusses the concept and growing importance of in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing.
- It reviews the accumulating evidence supporting the correlation between in vitro test results and clinical outcomes.
- It mentions ongoing collaborative efforts to enhance the reproducibility of these tests across different laboratories.
Main Results:
- In vitro antifungal susceptibility tests show significant correlation with treatment results.
- Standardized testing methods are likely to improve patient care by guiding antifungal drug selection.
- Reliable testing methods for yeasts are anticipated in the near future.
Conclusions:
- In vitro antifungal susceptibility testing is essential for optimizing antifungal therapy.
- Standardization and validation of these tests will enhance their clinical utility.
- The development of reliable yeast susceptibility testing is a promising advancement for clinical laboratories.