MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Performance of the VITEK® MS system for the identification of filamentous fungi in a microbiological laboratory in Chile

Summary

This study tested a new laboratory technology called VITEK® MS for quickly identifying mold infections in patients. Researchers tested the system on 67 mold samples representing 35 different species. The technology successfully identified over 91% of the mold samples accurately without any misidentifications, making it a reliable tool for hospitals to quickly determine what type of mold is causing an infection so doctors can prescribe the right antifungal medication.

Background

Filamentous fungi are an emerging cause of severe infections in immunocompromised patients. Traditional identification methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and operator-dependent. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry offers a rapid and easy-to-perform identification method.

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of the VITEK® MS system with the Mould Kit and updated database (v3.2.0) for identifying filamentous fungi in a clinical microbiology laboratory in Chile.

Results

VITEK® MS correctly identified 91.0% of isolates (58.2% to species level, 29.9% to species complex level, 1.5% to genus level only). In 82% of cases, VITEK® MS results matched reference laboratory identification. No misidentifications were observed.

Conclusion

The VITEK® MS system demonstrated high capability to accurately identify a broad spectrum of filamentous fungi in a routine microbiological laboratory without misidentifications. The system provides rapid identification after 48-72 hours of incubation.
  • Published in:PLoS One,
  • Study Type:Diagnostic Evaluation Study,
  • Source: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315690, PMID: 39715188
Scroll to Top