Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1975 Oct;8(4):444–452. doi: 10.1128/aac.8.4.444

Simplified Method for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Anaerobic Bacteria

Robert J Fass 1, Richard B Prior 1, Carol A Rotilie 1
PMCID: PMC429368  PMID: 1190751

Abstract

A simple, abbreviated broth dilution test (tube test) utilizing a commercially available medium and inexpensive disposable materials, and which could be performed entirely in room air, was developed and used to test the susceptibility of 100 strains of anaerobic bacteria to clindamycin, chloramphenicol, ampicillin, and tetracycline. Results are reported in categories of susceptibility: susceptible to concentrations surpassed in vivo with usual dosage, susceptible to concentrations surpassed in vivo with high dosage, and resistant to concentrations achievable in vivo. Results are compared to minimal inhibitory concentrations which were determined simultaneously by using a microdilution method in an anaerobic glove box. Twenty strains of Bacteroides fragilis, 10 strains of Fusobacterium, 20 strains of Clostridium, 10 strains of gram-positive non-sporeforming bacilli, and 30 strains of cocci grew to visible turbidity within 1 day of incubation. Of the 360 antibiotic-organism combinations tested, 98% were in a susceptibility category that corresponded (within one concentration) to the actual minimal inhibitory concentration as determined by the microdilution method. After 2 days of incubation, growth was more abundant, but results often indicated inappropriate degrees of resistance. Variation in inoculum size had little effect on results. Ten strains of B. melaninogenicus did not grow enough for susceptibility to be categorized accurately. The tube test could be used in any clinical microbiology laboratory for a limited number of susceptibility tests on anaerobic bacteria other than B. melaninogenicus without preparation of special media or purchase of special equipment.

Full text

PDF
444

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bauer A. W., Kirby W. M., Sherris J. C., Turck M. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standardized single disk method. Am J Clin Pathol. 1966 Apr;45(4):493–496. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blazevic D. J., Matsen J. M. Susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria to carbenicillin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1974 May;5(5):462–465. doi: 10.1128/aac.5.5.462. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bodner S. J., Koenig M. G., Treanor L. L., Goodman J. S. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of Bacteroides. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1972 Aug;2(2):57–60. doi: 10.1128/aac.2.2.57. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ericsson H. M., Sherris J. C. Antibiotic sensitivity testing. Report of an international collaborative study. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand B Microbiol Immunol. 1971;217(Suppl):1+–1+. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fass R. J., Rotilie C. A., Prior R. B. Interaction of clindamycin and gentamicin in vitro. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1974 Nov;6(5):582–587. doi: 10.1128/aac.6.5.582. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kwok Y. Y., Tally F. P., Sutter V. L., Finegold S. M. Disk susceptibility testing of slow-growing anaerobic bacteria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1975 Jan;7(1):1–7. doi: 10.1128/aac.7.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Metzler C. M., DeHaan R. M. Susceptibility tests of anaerobic bacteria: statistical and clinical considerations. J Infect Dis. 1974 Dec;130(6):588–594. doi: 10.1093/infdis/130.6.588. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Overman S., Lambe D. W., Jr, Bennett J. V. Proposed standardized method for testing and interpreting susceptibility of Bacteroides fragilis to tetracycline. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1974 Apr;5(4):357–361. doi: 10.1128/aac.5.4.357. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rahimi A., Martin W. J., Washington J. A., 2nd Effects of medium and inoculum on antimicrobial susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria. Am J Clin Pathol. 1974 Sep;62(3):425–427. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/62.3.425. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rotilie C. A., Fass R. J., Prior R. B., Perkins R. L. Microdilution technique for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1975 Mar;7(3):311–315. doi: 10.1128/aac.7.3.311. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sapico F. L., Kwok Y. Y., Sutter V. L., Finegold S. M. Standardized antimicrobial disc susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria: in vitro susceptibility of Clostridium perfringens to nine antibiotics. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1972 Oct;2(4):320–325. doi: 10.1128/aac.2.4.320. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Stalons D. R., Thornsberry C. Broth-dilution method for determining the antibiotic susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1975 Jan;7(1):15–21. doi: 10.1128/aac.7.1.15. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stalons D. R., Thornsberry C., Dowell V. R., Jr Effect of culture medium and carbon dioxide concentration on growth of anaerobic bacteria commonly encountered in clinical specimens. Appl Microbiol. 1974 Jun;27(6):1098–1104. doi: 10.1128/am.27.6.1098-1104.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sutter V. L., Kwok Y. Y., Finegold S. M. Standardized antimicrobial disc susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria. I. Susceptibility of Bacteroides fragilis to tetracycline. Appl Microbiol. 1972 Feb;23(2):268–275. doi: 10.1128/am.23.2.268-275.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sutter V. L., Kwok Y., Finegold S. M. Susceptibility of Bacteroides fragilis to six antibiotics determined by standardized antimicrobial disc susceptibility testing. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1973 Feb;3(2):188–193. doi: 10.1128/aac.3.2.188. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tally F. P., Armfield A. Y., Dowell V. R., Jr, Kwok Y. Y., Sutter V. L., Finegold S. M. Susceptibility of Clostridium ramosum to antimicrobial agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1974 Jun;5(6):589–593. doi: 10.1128/aac.5.6.589. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tally F. P., Stewart P. R., Sutter V. L., Rosenblatt J. E. Oxygen tolerance of fresh clinical anaerobic bacteria. J Clin Microbiol. 1975 Feb;1(2):161–164. doi: 10.1128/jcm.1.2.161-164.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wikins T. D., Holdeman L. V., Abramson I. J., Moore W. E. Standardized single-disc method for antibiotic susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1972 Jun;1(6):451–459. doi: 10.1128/aac.1.6.451. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wilkins T. D., Thiel T. Modified broth-disk method for testing the antibiotic susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1973 Mar;3(3):350–356. doi: 10.1128/aac.3.3.350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES