Ability of RapID Yeast Plus System to identify 304 clinically significant yeasts within 5 hours

The RapID Yeast Plus System (Innovative Diagnostic Systems, Norcross, Ga.) is a qualitative micromethod that uses conventional and chromogenic substrates for the identification of medically important yeasts. The ability of the RapID Yeast Plus system to accurately identify 304 clinical yeast isolates within 5 h was evaluated. The RapID Yeast Plus method correctly identified 286 (94.1%) of strains to the species level without the need for additional tests. A further 12 strains (3.9%) were classified as correct to the genus level or to a low-probability identification with two or more possibilities. In these latter cases, additional tests were required to delineate the correct identification. Organisms in the latter group comprised Candida parapsilosis (n = 1), Candida tropicalis (n = 1), Candida ciferrii (n = 1), Candida guilliermondii (n = 2), Candida humicola (n = 1), Candida kefyr (n = 1), Cryptococcus neoformans (n = 1), and Rhodotorula rubra (n = 4). Six strains (2.0%) were misidentified or did not yield codes in the manufacturer's database. These included one Candida utilis (identified as Candida famata/Candida guilliermondii), one Trichosporon beigelii (identified as Cryptococcus neoformans), one Candida diddensiae (identified as Candida albicans), one Candida membranaefaciens (identified as Candida parapsilosis), one Candida norvegensis (identified as Candida zeylanoides), and one Candida catenulata (no code) isolate; the last four strains are not included in the firm's current database. The RapID Yeast Plus system yielded excellent results and may be recommended for use in the routine laboratory for accurate same-day identification of clinically significant yeasts.