Background: The reference method for antifungal susceptibility testing is broth Microdilution according to Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. However, the fully automated system, Vitek 2C system may reduce the workload and observer bias associated with manual broth Microdilution. This study aimed to compare the results of YS08 card with the results of the broth Microdilution (BMD) method. Methods: A total of 50 clinical Candida isolates were included in the study. The susceptibility testing was done by Vitek 2C using the YS08 card. Broth Microdilution was done according to CLSI guidelines M27M44S-Ed3. Results: For C. albicans, the categorical agreement was 85.8%, 71.5%, 85.8%, and 100% for fluconazole, voriconazole, caspofungin, and micafungin, respectively. The minor errors (MiE) of 14.2% for fluconazole and caspofungin, 28.5% for voriconazole, were detected in C. albicans. In C. glabrata, the categorical agreement (CA) was 100% for micafungin, voriconazole, but 63.7% for caspofungin. An MiE of 36.3% was detected for caspofungin. C. parapsilosis showed a 100% CA for fluconazole, caspofungin, and micafungin, and 85.8% for voriconazole. There were 14.2% of MiEs for voriconazole. In C. tropicalis, 100 % CA was observed for fluconazole, micafungin, and caspofungin, and 88.9% for voriconazole. Moreover, 11.1% (1/9) of MiEs was observed for voriconazole. In C. auris, there was a 100% CA for caspofungin and micafungin, 77.8% for fluconazole, and 66.7% for amphotericin B. There was a major error of 22.2% for fluconazole and 33.3% for amphotericin B. Conclusion: The majority of Vitek 2C showed comparable results with the broth Microdilution (BMD) method. Only minor errors (MiEs) were observed in the tested Candida species.

Background: Candida species, as opportunistic organisms, can cause various clinical manifestations, ranging from mild cutaneous infections to systemic candidiasis in otherwise healthy individuals. Remarkably, the incidence and mortality rates of candidemia have significantly increased worldwide, even after advances in medical interventions and the development of novel antifungal drugs. Objectives: Given the possible resistance to antifungal agents, susceptibility testing can be useful in defining the activity spectrum of antifungals and determining the appropriate treatment regime. Materials and Methods: The in vitro susceptibilities of molecularly identified Candida strains (n = 150) belonging to seven species recovered from clinical specimens, including vaginal, cutaneous, sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and blood samples, were determined for six antifungal drugs (amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, and caspofungin), based on the clinical and laboratory standards institute’ s M27-A3 and M27-S4 documents. Results: Candida albicans was the most frequently isolated species (44. 66%), followed by non-albicans Candida, including C. glabrata (20%), C. parapsilosis (13. 33%), C. krusei (8%), C. tropicalis (7. 3%), C. dubliniensis (4%), and C. africana (3. 33%). Posaconazole had the lowest geometric mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (0. 0122  g/ml), followed by amphotericin B (0. 0217  g/mL), voriconazole (0. 1022  g/mL), itraconazole (0. 1612  g/mL), caspofungin (0. 2525  g/mL), and fluconazole (0. 4874  g/mL) against all isolated Candida species. Candida africana and C. parapsilosis were significantly more susceptible to fluconazole, compared to C. albicans and other Candida species (P < 0. 001). However, their clinical effectiveness in the treatment of Candida infections remains to be determined. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of precise and correct species identification of clinical yeast isolates via molecular approaches, and of monitoring the antifungal susceptibility of Candida species recovered from clinical sources. Laboratories should consider routine MIC testing of C. glabrata isolates collected from sterile sites. Surveillance studies of Candida species and new analyses of antifungal treatment outcomes will allow more informed determinations of the value of these drugs in the antifungal armamentarium.

Background: The use of antimicrobial properties of medicinal plants can solve the problems associated with the use of antibiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial property of Oregano hydro alcoholic extract on pathogen bacteria by microplate in laboratory conditions. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial properties of hydro alcoholic extract of oregano on pathogenic bacteria by microplate method in vitro. Methods: After collecting oregano, they were dried in a place by sunlight and in shade for 48-48 hours, and extraction was carried out by maceration, in order to determine the amount of inhibition (dilution) inhibitor The Muller-Hinton broth was used. The turbidity rate was evaluated in the wells method (Microdilution). Conclusion: The results of Microdilution test showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of extract on Escherichia coli in the first (l µ, 50), the concentration of extract on salmonella typhimurium in the first (l µ, 50), the concentration of Klebsiella pneumonia in the second (l µ, 25), Concentrations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the sixth poison (l µ, 1. 56), concentration of Bacillus cereus in the eighth grade (l µ, 0. 39), and the minimum concentration of Staphylococcus aureus in the tenth (without growth) strain. The results showed that Oregano essential oil has antibacterial properties and can be used as a cheap and available source for therapeutic applications in some bacterial infections. In other words, Oregano can be considered as an alternative to synthetic antibiotics to combat the isolates tested. Of course, all the effects of these extracts should be carefully investigated in vivo and in vitro.

Dermatophyte fungi are the etiologic agents of skin infections commonly referred to as ringworm. These infections are not dangerous but as a chronic cutaneous infections they may be difficult to treat and can also cause physical discomfort for patients. They are considered important as a public health problem as well. No information is available regarding the efficacy of antifungal agents against dermatophytes in Tehran. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the efficacy of 10 systemic and topical antifungal medications using CLSI broth Microdilution method (M38-A). The antifungal agents used included griseofulvin, terbinafine, itraconazole, ketoconazole, fluconazole, voriconazole, clotrimazole, ciclopirox olamine, amorolfine and naftifine. Fifteen different species of dermatophytes which were mostly clinical isolates were used as follows; T. mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, E. floccosum, M. canis, T. verrucosum, T. tonsurans, M. gypseum, T. violaceum, M. ferruginum, M. fulvum, T. schoenleinii, M. racemosum, T. erinacei, T. eriotrephon and Arthroderma benhamiae. The mean number of fungi particles (conidia) inoculated was 1.25 ´ 104 CFU/mL. Results were read after 7 days of incubation at 28oC. According to the obtained results, itraconazole and terbinafine showed the lowest and fluconazole had the greatest MIC values for the most fungi tested. Based on the results, it is necessary to do more research and design a reliable standard method for determination of antifungal susceptibility to choose proper antibiotics with fewer side effects and decrease antifungal resistance and risk of treatment failure.

Candida species are the second most common cause of vulvovaginitis worldwide. Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) is a common disease affecting more than 75% of all women at least once in their lifetime and 5 to 8% of those individuals also develop recurrent infections. Correct identifi, cation of the isolated Candida species is essential to direct the empirical antifungal therapy. The aim of this study were to isolate Candida from VVC patients, show its characterization and in vitro antifungal susceptibility against six antifungal drugs by the broth Microdilution method. Vaginal swabs were collected from infected women. One sample was processed for direct microscopic examination and other one was used for culture on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and CHROMagar. Isolates was identified by battery of tests and antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida species was done by Microdilution method. A total of 145 isolates of candida species were obtained. Candida albicans was found to be the most frequently isolated species, i. e. 114 (78. 6%) of the total isolates, followed by C. glabrata 17 (11. 7%), C. krusei 11 (7. 5 %), C. parapsilosis 2 (1. 3 %), and C. tropicalis 1 (0. 68%). All drugs were active against all of the isolates except for Nystatin and Econazole, two (5%) of C. albicans were non-susceptible to it and three (7%) of C. albicans isolates were nonsusceptible to Tioconazole. Identification of Candida to species level and their antifungal susceptibility testing should be done to achieve better clinical results.