Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Ng, L. S. Y.
• Sim, J. H. C.
• Eng, L. C.
• Menon, S.
• Tan, T. Y.

Titel

Comparison of phenotypic methods and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the identification of aero-tolerant Actinomyces spp. isolated from soft-tissue infections

Ist Teil von

• European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases, 2012-08, Vol.31 (8), p.1749-1752

Ort / Verlag

Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Aero-tolerant Actinomyces spp. are an under-recognised cause of cutaneous infections, in part because identification using conventional phenotypic methods is difficult and may be inaccurate. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a promising new technique for bacterial identification, but with limited data on the identification of aero-tolerant Actinomyces spp. This study evaluated the accuracy of a phenotypic biochemical kit, MALDI-TOF MS and genotypic identification methods for the identification of this problematic group of organisms. Thirty aero-tolerant Actinomyces spp. were isolated from soft-tissue infections over a 2-year period. Species identification was performed by 16 s rRNA sequencing and genotypic results were compared with results obtained by API Coryne and MALDI-TOF MS. There was poor agreement between API Coryne and genotypic identification, with only 33% of isolates correctly identified to the species level. MALDI-TOF MS correctly identified 97% of isolates to the species level, with 33% of identifications achieved with high confidence scores. MALDI-TOF MS is a promising new tool for the identification of aero-tolerant Actinomyces spp., but improvement of the database is required in order to increase the confidence level of identification.