Washington, John A.

A comparison between direct and standardized disk diffusion tests was made on a total of 300 urine specimens containing ≥10 5 organisms/ml. Of these, 246 represented pure cultures and 54 represented mixed cultures. The number of major discrepancies per organism tested in pure culture was 18 (7.3%) and in mixed cultures it was 23 (42.6%). The percentage of major discrepancies per total number of antimicrobial drug comparisons made was 1.4%. Although this procedure may be of value in selected cases with pure cultures of organisms present in quantities ≥10 5 /ml, its use on a routine basis is not recommended.

This study examined (i) the activity of gentamicin added to agar in ratios of 1:100 and 1:1,000 to produce a final concentration of 1 μg/ml, (ii) the uniformity of distribution of gentamicin in agar in relation to the amount of mixing, and (iii) the effect of agar depth on the activity of gentamicin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Although the ratio of antibiotic solution to agar had no significant effects on activity of the antibiotic, the amount of mixing did. Agar depth had no significant effect on the activity of gentamicin.

Ampicillin resistance (minimal inhibitory concentration ≥10 μg/ml) in the absence of beta-lactamase activity by Haemophilus influenzae was noted in tests performed with Mueller-Hinton agar containing one lot of supplement C. All strains, except five with known resistance due to beta-lactamase activity, were inhibited by 0.6 μg or less of ampicillin per ml of chocolatized blood agar.

Checkerboard bactericidal studies were performed with two strains each of Streptococcus mitis, S. salivarius , and S. sanguis , and the results were analyzed by the use of isobolograms. Synergy between penicillin and streptomycin or gentamicin was demonstrated with four strains, representing two of S. salivarius , one of S. sanguis , and one of S. mitis ; the remainder were either too susceptible or too resistant to be analyzed. Clindamycin with streptomycin or gentamicin acted synergistically with three strains, representing two of S. sanguis and one of S. salivarius ; the remainder were either too susceptible or too resistant to be analyzed.