Evaluation of the updated Vitek yeast identification data base.

Using 398 isolates of yeasts and yeastlike fungi comprising 9 genera and 26 species, as well as the hyphomycete Geotrichum candidum and the achlorophyllous alga Prototheca wickerhamii, we compared the API 20C yeast identification system with the modified Vitek yeast identification system with an expanded data base. We found 11 discrepancies between the two systems: five (1.3%) of the isolates (Blastoschizomyces capitatus, 1; Candida albicans, 1; Hansenula anomala, 1; Rhodotorula minuta, 2) had biocodes not included in the expanded Vitek data base, and six (1.5%) of the isolates (Candida lusitaniae, 1; Candida parapsilosis, 1; Cryptococcus uniguttulatus, 1; H. anomala, 1; Torulopsis candida, 2) were misidentified by the Vitek system. Overall, the efficacy of the Vitek system compares favorably with that of the API 20C in the identification of clinically important yeasts.