Antifungal susceptibility testing

Antifungal susceptibility testing has been a recognized tool for more than 15 years. Despite this tenure, interpretation of the results and determining how best to use these results continues to be controversial. Although initially laboratories hesitated to initiate antifungal susceptibility testing into their workflow, advances by industry have made this testing more attractive to even smaller institutions. As a result, much information has been generated regarding susceptibility patterns between specific species and specific antifungal agents. By understanding the available testing methods and by using the susceptibility patterns, physicians are better equipped to use the results provided by the laboratory to make treatment decisions.