Evaluation of the albicans IDR plate method for the rapid identification of Candida albicans

Albicans IDR is a ready-to-use medium containing a hexosaminic substrate that allows rapid and specific identification of Candida albicans. In this study, we have evaluated its performance using 330 pure cultures of yeast strains previously identified by conventional mycological methods. The test correctly identified all the Candida albicans strains tested (186 isolates), but there were 28 false-positive reactions after 48 h of culture incubation. The false-positive isolates corresponded to the species Candida tropicalis (13 strains), Trichosporon beigelii (12 strains), Cryptococcus neoformans (one strain), Candida lusitaniae (one strain) and Candida membranaefaciens (one strain). The sensitivity of the method was 100% and the specificity was 90.3% at 24 h and 86.6% at 48 h of incubation. Albicans IDR plate is a new, easy-to-perform and inexpensive method for C. albicans identification, and it could be used for direct isolation and identification of this species from clinical samples.