Description and evaluation of the semiautomated 4-hour ATB 32E method for identification of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae

Abstract

A study was performed to compare the rapid identification system ATB 32E (API-bioMerieux SA, La Balme-les-Grottes, France) with conventional biochemical methods for identifying 414 isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae and the genus Aeromonas, mainly of clinical origin. Overall, 395 strains (95.4%) were correctly identified, with 48 (11.6%) requiring extra tests for complete identification. Ten strains (2.4%) were not identified, and nine (2.9%) were misidentified. The ATB 32E is a suitable alternative for rapid identification of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae.

Comparison of Systems for Identification and Differentiation of Species within the Genus Yersinia

“…Labeling and dot blot hybridization (stringent washing at 45°C) were done as described previously (15,18). The API 20E system is considered the "gold standard" (9,13,14,17) to which new identification systems have to be compared. For this assay we found an overall sensitivity of 79% (Table 1).…”