ABAC identibiogramme: prototype of an automated system for identification of enterobacteria

The ABAC Identibiogramme, an automated, computerized system for the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the Enterobacteriaceae has been developed recently. The biological basis of the system resides in lyophilized, highly discriminating media enclosed in wells of an automatically inoculated disposable cartridge. The introduction of a suitable specimen rehydrates and inoculates the media in the wells. After incubation for 16 to 18 h at 37 degrees C and the addition of only one reagent (Kovacs reagent), the media changes and the results obtained are interpreted by an automated optical system and a computer. The antibiogram is also used by the computer to confirm the biochemical identification of the organism. The identification accuracy of a prototype of the ABAC Identibiogramme system was compared with that of API 20 E and conventional methods using a total of 1,290 clinical isolates. The ABAC Identibiogramme correctly identified 96.8% of the organisms tested, misidentified 2.4% and failed to identify 0.8%. The results demonstrate the high reliability and good identification performance of the ABAC Identibiogramme in comparison to API 20 E and conventional methods.