Collaborative evaluation of the micro-media systems anaerobe susceptibility panel: comparisons with reference methods and test reproducibility.

The Micro-Media Systems (MMS) anaerobe susceptibility testing panel results from four laboratories were compared for interlaboratory and intralaboratory variations and for the results with the reference agar dilution and a broth microdilution method. The interlaboratory agreement was 98.0% and intralaboratory agreement was 97.3% (+/- 1 log2 dilution). When interpretive criteria for each antimicrobial agent (susceptible, intermediate, and resistant) were assigned, the MMS anaerobic minimum inhibitory concentration data showed an interpretive accuracy of 91.0 and 95.5% for comparisons to the reference agar dilution and the broth methods, respectively. Most significant interpretive errors were considered minor, and nearly half of all errors involved tetracycline, a drug rarely used for serious anaerobic infections. The MMS anaerobe panels appear to be acceptable for selected use in clinical microbiology laboratories.