Criteria for the interpretation of the pipemidic acid agar diffusion test by the Kirby-Bauer method

The antibiotic sensitivity of 296 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 294 isolates of other species was measured by the agar diffusion test with 20 micrograms pipemidic acid (Deblaston) discs on Mueller-Hinton agar by the Kirby-Bauer method. The correlation between inhibition zone diameter and minimal inhibitory concentration was worked out by regression analysis. In all bacterial species investigated, an inhibition zone of 14 mm or more indicates sensitivity to pipemidic acid. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa an intermediate zone of 11 to 13 mm is recommended.