Journal of medical microbiology最新文献

{"title":"<i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i>: not a typical respiratory pathogen.","authors":"Richard S Rowlands, Patrick M Meyer Sauteur, Michael L Beeton, On Behalf Of The Escmid Study Group For Mycoplasma And Chlamydia Infections Esgmac","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001910","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001910","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> is a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia among school-aged children and young adults. Infections occur throughout the year but tend to surge during winter months across Europe. A characteristic epidemic cycle, where a substantial surge in the number of infections occurs, is seen approximately every 1-4 years and hypothesized to be driven by changes in immunity and a shift in circulating variants. Once thought to be an organism of low virulence, it has now been found to possess several virulence factors, including toxin production, biofilm formation and evasion of antibody-mediated immunity. The lack of a cell wall and reduced metabolic pathways limit the options for antibiotic treatment. Acquired macrolide resistance is a growing concern, with >80% of cases in China being macrolide-resistant. Although efforts have been made to develop a vaccine, there are still substantial hurdles to overcome in relation to vaccine-enhanced disease, which results from an inappropriate immune response among vaccinated individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11523975/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142549784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An investigation of scattered light integrating collector technology for rapid blood culture sensitivity testing.","authors":"L White, R Hammond, R J Shorten, J P Derrick","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001896","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001896","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Sepsis rates are increasing, with Gram-negative organisms representing a large proportion of bloodstream infections. Rapid antibiotic administration, alongside diagnostic investigations, is required for the effective management of these patients.<b>Gap statement.</b> Current diagnostics take ~48 h for a final report; therefore, rapid diagnostics are required.<b>Aim.</b> This study investigated a novel antibiotic sensitivity method, the scattered light integrating collector (SLIC), combined with a rapid identification method using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) technology to determine if an accurate identification and susceptibility result can be provided within 4 h of a positive blood culture report.<b>Methodology.</b> A total of 47 blood cultures containing Gram-negative bacteria from 46 patients were processed using the MALDI-TOF Biotyper Sepsityper for identification directly from the blood and the SLIC instrument for susceptibility testing. All organisms were also tested using the current standard workflow used in the host laboratory. Categorical agreement (CA), major errors (MaEs) and very major errors (VMEs) were determined.<b>Results.</b> SLIC produced susceptibility results with a 71.9% CA, 30.6% MaE and 17.5% VME. The median difference in time to the final result was 44.14 (43 : 05-45 : 15) h earlier compared to the current method.<b>Conclusion.</b> We conclude that SLIC was unable to consistently provide sufficiently accurate antibiotic susceptibility results compared to the current standard method.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11448337/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142368058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A rapid visualization method for detecting rotavirus A by combining nuclear acid sequence-based amplification with the CRISPR-Cas12a assay.","authors":"Yue Chen, Junhua Wu, E-Bin Gao, Yanbo Lu, Haiyan Qiu","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001892","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001892","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Rotavirus A is the most common pathogen causing diarrhoea in children less than 5 years, leading to severe complications such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, acidosis, myocarditis, convulsions, pneumonia, and other life-threatening conditions.<b>Gap statement.</b> There is an urgent need for a rapid and efficient nucleic acid detection strategy to enable early diagnosis and treatment, preventing rotavirus transmission and associated complications.<b>Aim.</b> This article aimed to develop a nuclear acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA)-Cas12a system for detecting rotavirus A using fluorescence intensity or lateral flow strips.<b>Methodology.</b> The NASBA technology was combined with the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas12a system to establish a NASBA-Cas12a system for detecting rotavirus A.<b>Results.</b> The NASBA-Cas12a system could detect rotavirus A at 37 ℃ within 70 min and had no cross-reactivity with other viruses, achieving a limit of detection of 1.2 copies μl^-1. This system demonstrated a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 90%, positive predictive value of 97.22% and negative predictive value of 100%. The kappa value was 0.933, indicating that the NASBA-Cas12a system was highly consistent with reverse transcription-PCR.<b>Conclusion.</b> The NASBA-Cas12a system exhibited high sensitivity and specificity for detecting rotavirus A, showing great potential for clinical application.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11448473/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142368056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Absence of measurable quantities of <i>Candida auris</i> and <i>Cryptococcus</i> spp. in the gut microbiota of Ghanaian individuals with and without HIV infection as confirmed by applying multiple real-time PCR assays.","authors":"Frieder Fuchs, Hagen Frickmann, Andreas Hahn, Carsten Balczun, Ralf Matthias Hagen, Torsten Feldt, Fred Stephen Sarfo, Veronica Di Cristanziano, Ulrike Loderstädt, Stephan Ehrhardt, Stefanie Schoppen, Harry Tagbor, Kirsten Alexandra Eberhardt","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001916","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001916","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction</b>. Fungal infections are relevant health risks for individuals with acquired immunodeficiency in the resource-limited tropics, but available surveillance data are scarce. For <i>Candida auris</i> and <i>Cryptococcus</i> spp., the evolution from environmental reservoirs to human pathogens causing life-threatening diseases is currently discussed as a public health concern in the context of climate change and limited treatment options.<b>Gap statement</b>. Uncovering the gastrointestinal tract as an epidemiological niche of fungi emerging from the environment into individuals for whom fungal infections are not diagnosed.<b>Aim</b>. To contribute to data on the local epidemiology of <i>C. auris</i> and <i>Cryptococcus</i> spp. in Western African Ghana by analysing gastrointestinal samples of Ghanaian individuals.<b>Methodology</b>. Four real-time PCR assays targeting <i>C. auris</i> and five real-time PCR assays targeting <i>Cryptococcus</i> spp. were applied with stool samples of 875 non-age-stratified Ghanaian HIV patients and 30 Ghanaian control individuals without known HIV infection. Also, 664 samples from Ghanaian children under 2 years of age were investigated. The true abundance of the target micro-organism was considered as unlikely in the case of one or fewer positive signals, likely in the case of two to three positive signals and highly likely in the case of four or more positive signals per sample in the real-time PCR assays.<b>Results</b>. The combined application of sensitive, target-specific real-time PCR assays indicates that neither <i>C. auris</i>, <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> complex nor <i>Cryptococcus gattii</i> complex were part of the gut microbiota of Ghanaian individuals with or without HIV infection.<b>Conclusion</b>. Despite the significant disease burden from these pathogens in immunosuppressed Ghanaian individuals, detection from gastrointestinal samples was unlikely, which should be taken into account when discussing screening strategies for these fungi of public health concern. In contrast, the detection of these fungi from such samples should not routinely be considered as commensal colonization flora.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142402515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nosocomial cluster of patients infected with imipenemase-1-producing <i>Enterobacter ludwigii</i>.","authors":"Raquel Zaragozá González, Laura Iglesias Llorente, Estefanía Águila Fernández-Paniagua, Laura Alonso Acero, Teresa Monserrat Blázquez, Iballa Horcajada, Laura Florén Florén Zabala","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001919","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001919","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Imipenemase (IMI) enzymes are an uncommon class A carbapenemases that have been isolated from aquatic environments and, occasionally, from clinical isolates of <i>Enterobacterales</i>.<b>Aim.</b> We describe a cluster of three patients infected by IMI-1 carbapenemase-producing <i>Enterobacter ludwigii</i> (IMI-1-Elud) in a tertiary university hospital in Gran Canaria, Spain.<b>Methodology.</b> Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using the Vitek2 AST-N355 card and antibiotic gradient strips. The modified carbapenem inactivation method (CIM) test was performed in cases where the ertapenem MIC value was higher than 0.125 mg l^-1. The carbapenemase was identified by PCR and DNA microarray and later characterized by whole-genome next-generation sequencing (NGS) with Illumina.<b>Results.</b> Three patients presented thoracic or abdominal infections caused by IMI-1-Elud ST1677 from 14 June 2022 to 14 July 2022. All patients underwent at least one gastroscopy during their admission, and two of them were located in adjoining rooms. Isolates were resistant to carbapenems, colistin and fosfomycin but susceptible to ciprofloxacin. IMI/NMC-A carbapenemase was detected by PCR and hybridization test and confirmed by NGS as IMI-1. All patients underwent at least one gastroscopy, and two of them were in nearby rooms. Patients showed microbiological and clinical improvement following focus drainage and targeted antibiotic treatment with a fluoroquinolone.<b>Conclusions.</b> This study reports the first documented global outbreak of patients infected with IMI-1-Elud. The source appeared to be related to endoscopes. Contact transmission may also have played a role. A screening method such as the modified CIM test is crucial for detecting less common carbapenemases that might not be identified by rapid molecular or immunochromatographic tests, as these often do not include <i>bla</i> _IMI genes, which could lead to the undetected dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales. Effective infection source control and targeted treatment are essential for achieving a favourable clinical outcome.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142523979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Complete genome identified of clinical isolate <i>Prototheca</i>.","authors":"Juanjuan Li, Xiaorong He, Hongen Guo, Damin Lin, Xiaomo Wu, Borui Chen","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001914","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> <i>Prototheca</i> is an opportunistic pathogen that can infect both humans and animals, of which <i>Prototheca wickerhamii</i> (<i>P. wickerhamii</i>) being the most significant pathogenic green algae.<b>Gap statement.</b> The incidence of human diseases caused by <i>Prototheca</i> has been on the rise, yet there is a significant gap in genetic research pertaining to the pathophysiological aspects of these infections.<b>Aim.</b> The aim of this study is to present the whole genome data from the clinical isolate InPu-22_FZ strain and to understand its genomic characteristics through comparative genomic analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis. Functional annotation of protein-coding genes and analysis of their pathogenicity are also conducted.<b>Methodology.</b> We described the high-quality <i>de novo</i> genome assembly of the clinical isolate InPu-22_FZ strain, achieved by combining Nanopore ONT and Illumina NovaSeq sequencing technologies. Phylogenetic tree was constructed to study the evolutionary relationship between the InPu-22_FZ strain and other species. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis was used to assess the similarity between different species. Additionally, the size, distribution and composition of synteny blocks were also analysed to infer the evolutionary relationships of the genomes.<b>Results.</b> The size of the assembled nuclear genome was 18.47 Mb with 48 contigs. Key features of the genome include high overall GC content (63.31%), high number (5478) and proportion (62.24%) of protein-coding genes and more than 96.71% of genes annotated for gene function. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the InPu-22_FZ strain and other <i>P. wickerhamii</i> clustered into one clade with a bootstrap value of 99% and collinearity analysis revealed high levels of collinearity with ATCC 16529. The ANI analysis revealed only a relatively high similarity (89-93%) to available <i>P. wickerhamii</i> genomes, suggesting the overall genomic novelty of InPu-22_FZ strain. Interestingly, the analysis of the pathogen-host interaction database unveiled and demonstrated reduced virulence of this strain, albeit it was isolated from a chronic upper-limb cutaneous infection.<b>Conclusion.</b> The study provides an in-depth insight into the genomic structure and biological function of the InPu-22_FZ strain, revealing the genetic basis of its pathogenicity and virulence.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142484375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emergence of drug-resistant <i>Elizabethkingia anophelis</i> clinical isolates in Myanmar.","authors":"Tatsuya Tada, Satoshi Oshiro, Naeko Mizutani, Koji Sato, Nang Sarm Hom, Pan Ei Soe, Thi Thi Htoon, Htay Htay Tin, Teruo Kirikae","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001917","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Seven drug-resistant <i>Elizabethkingia anophelis</i> isolates were obtained from inpatients in three medical settings in Myanmar between February 2017 and January 2021. All isolates were resistant to β-lactams and colistin. Among these, four isolates were resistant to amikacin with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≥64 µg ml^-1. Six of the seven isolates harboured genes encoding intrinsic β-lactamases, including <i>bla</i> _B, <i>bla</i> _CME and <i>bla</i> _GOB, whereas one isolate harboured <i>bla</i> _B, <i>bla</i> _CME and an incomplete <i>bla</i> _GOB gene. Phylogenetic analysis based on whole-genome sequences revealed that several <i>E. anophelis</i> isolates in Myanmar formed their own clusters, whereas others were similar to isolates found in the USA. This is the first report of the emergence of <i>Elizabethkingia</i> species in Myanmar.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142484376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum: A comparison of qPCR and microscopy for the detection and enumeration of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> oocysts from drinking water.","authors":"Guy Robinson, Kristin Elwin, Matthew Jones, Rachel M Chalmers","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001926","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142515449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Abf1 negatively regulates the expression of <i>EPA1</i> and affects adhesion in <i>Candida glabrata</i>.","authors":"Grecia Hernández-Hernández, Laura A Vera-Salazar, Guadalupe Gutiérrez-Escobedo, Nicolás Gómez-Hernández, Osney Leiva-Peláez, Alejandro De Las Peñas, Irene Castaño","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001905","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001905","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction</b>. Adherence is a major virulence trait in <i>Candida glabrata</i> that, in many strains, depends on the <i>EPA</i> (epithelial adhesin) genes, which confer the ability to adhere to epithelial and endothelial cells of the host. The <i>EPA</i> genes are generally found at subtelomeric regions, which makes them subject to subtelomeric silencing. In <i>C. glabrata</i>, subtelomeric silencing depends on different protein complexes, such as silent information regulator and yKu complexes, and other proteins, such as Repressor/activator protein 1 (Rap1) and Abf1. At the <i>EPA1</i> locus, which encodes the main adhesin Epa1, we previously found at least two <i>cis</i>-acting elements, the protosilencer Sil2126 and the negative element, that contribute to the propagation of silencing from the telomere to the subtelomeric region.<b>Hypothesis</b>. Abf1 binds to the regulatory regions of <i>EPA1</i> and other regions at the telomere E-R, thereby negatively regulating <i>EPA1</i> transcription.<b>Aim</b>. To determine whether Abf1 and Rap1 silencing proteins bind to previously identified <i>cis-</i>acting elements on the right telomere of chromosome E (E-R subtelomeric region), resulting in negative regulation of <i>EPA1</i> transcription and infer Abf1 and Rap1 recognition sites in <i>C. glabrata</i>.<b>Methodology</b>. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by quantitative PCR to determine the binding sites for Abf1 and Rap1 in the intergenic regions between <i>EPA1</i> and <i>EPA2</i> and <i>HYR1</i> and <i>EPA1</i>, and mutants were used to determine the silencing level of the <i>EPA1</i> promoter region.<b>Results</b>. We found that Abf1 predominantly binds to the <i>EPA1</i> promoter region, leading to negative regulation of <i>EPA1</i> expression. Furthermore, the mutant <i>abf1-43</i>, which lacks the last 43 amino acids at its C-terminal end and is defective for subtelomeric silencing, exhibits hyperadherence to epithelial cells <i>in vitro</i> compared to the parental strain, suggesting that <i>EPA1</i> is derepressed. We also determined the motif-binding sequences for Abf1 and Rap1 in <i>C. glabrata</i> using data from the ChIP assays.<b>Conclusion</b>. Together these data indicate that Abf1 negatively regulates <i>EPA1</i> expression, leading to decreased adhesion of <i>C. glabrata</i> to epithelial cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142368057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification methods as a factor affecting the performance of clinical microbiology laboratories participating in an external quality assessment program: a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis.","authors":"Jennifer Wu, Md Saiful Alam, Veronica Restelli, Selvarani Vimalanathan, Lucy A Perrone","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001915","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001915","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Laboratory participation in external quality assessment (EQA) programmes including proficiency testing (PT) is a requirement of clinical laboratory conformance to ISO 15189:2022 <i>Medical laboratories - Requirements for quality and competence</i>. PT is one EQA method whereby laboratories are sent blinded samples for characterization by routine laboratory diagnostic methods. Importantly, PT enables a laboratory's performance to be evaluated in comparison to the standard reference methods and to the performance of other peer laboratories using similar diagnostic methods.<b>Gap statement.</b> The desired outcome of participating in PT is to help laboratories identify possible sources of error in each step of the total testing process and particularly in their test methods during the analytical phase.<b>Aim.</b> This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) compared to conventional phenotypic biochemical testing on laboratory performance in a clinical bacteriology PT scheme.<b>Methodology.</b> During a 6-year period from 2017-2022, the Canadian Microbiology Proficiency Testing implemented 112 PT challenges comprising 22 different sample types and included 61 different bacterial species. This was translated into 5883 graded test events for analysis. Multiple logistic regression techniques were employed to explore the association between the test method employed and laboratory performance. The sample type and aerobic classification of challenge organisms were included as confounding variables.<b>Results.</b> Laboratories using MALDI-TOF MS performed significantly better in characterizing microorganisms than laboratories using phenotypic biochemical testing alone [odds ratio OR = 5.68, confidence interval (CI): 3.92, 8.22] regardless of the sample type and aerobic classification. Notably, our analysis identified a significant association between anaerobic organisms and laboratory performance (OR: 0.24, CI: 0.17-0.35), suggesting that culturing and identifying fastidious organisms remains a significant obstacle for many clinical microbiology laboratories.<b>Conclusions.</b> Although no method is infallible and its performance will depend on the validation and quality assurance procedures, this finding may help the management in the decision for implementing MALDI-TOF MS in the microbiology laboratory. This study highlights the important role PT providers play in the objective assessment of laboratory performance and how it can provide evidence for quality improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11520924/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142523978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}