Background: The efficiency of a novel differential culture medium, CHROM-agar Candida, is evaluated in order to differentiation and presumptive identification of clinically important yeasts.
Methods: We studied 600 clinical yeast strains, pertaining to 8 genera (Candida, Cryptococcus, Geotrichum, Rhodotorula, Trichosporon, Kluyveromyces, Pichia and Saccharomyces) and 27 species. Strains were previously identified by conventional methods and by commercial system ATB ID32C (Bio-Mérieux).
Results: Four species (C. albicans, C. krusei, C. tropicalis and t. beigelii) were presumptive recognized after 48-72 hours of incubation, regarding their colonial morphology and color. Colony color of other species showed low specificity.
Conclusion: CHROM-agar Candida medium is recommended for recognition of mixed yeast cultures and differentiation of the common clinically yeast species.