Rationale for identification and susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria

Anaerobic bacteria are involved in a wide variety of human infections. In recent years there have been major refinements in technical materials used for transporting specimens, growing and identifying anaerobic bacteria and performing antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Because of the major importance of anaerobic bacteria and their changing susceptibility patterns, it has become increasingly important to identify these organisms and, in certain situations, to determine susceptibilities. The commercial availability of prereduced, anaerobically sterilized systems for identification has been helpful. However, the recent development of rapid identification systems based on tests for preformed enzymes has been a major advance. Finally, the commercial availability of broth microdilution susceptibility systems makes routine testing feasible. Guidelines for using these procedures are presented.