Evaluation of a Novel System for Rapid Antibacterial Susceptibility Testing

Early determination of antibacterial susceptibility increases the success of therapy, decreases unnecessary use of antibacterial agents and side-effects, and lowers the overall healthcare cost. We have evaluated a rapid antibacterial susceptibility test, Qui-Sensitest (Salubris Inc., Istanbul, Turkey), which is based on a rapid culture medium that indicates growth by changing its color. Qui-Sensitest proved to be a reliable rapid test for determining antibacterial susceptibility having an overall agreement of 97.6% with Kirby Bauer disk diffusion test results for enteric bacteria with 0.4% of major discrepancies and 2.0% of minor discrepancy. Since the test makes the results available in 3.5-6 hours, it can provide the means for choosing the right treatment regimen the same day the infectious agent is isolated.