PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - V J Warburton-Timms AU - C A M McNulty TI - Role of screening agar plates for in vitro susceptibility testing of Helicobacter pylori in a routine laboratory setting AID - 10.1136/jcp.54.5.408 DP - 2001 May 01 TA - Journal of Clinical Pathology PG - 408--411 VI - 54 IP - 5 4099 - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/54/5/408.short 4100 - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/54/5/408.full SO - J Clin Pathol2001 May 01; 54 AB - Background—Resistance of Helicobacter pylori to the more frequently used antibiotics (metronidazole and clarithromycin) reduces eradication rates even with triple treatment. Determining the antibiogram profile of H pylori can take up to 14 days and delays appropriate treatment. Aims—To determine the role of screening agar plates for more rapid in vitro susceptibility of H pylori to metronidazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin. Methods—Routine gastric biopsy specimens from 507 dyspeptic patients were inoculated on to 10% lysed blood agar plates containing metronidazole (8 μg/ml), clarithromycin (2 μg/ml), or amoxicillin (0.5 μg/ml). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the 90 isolates was determined using the E test. Results—Metronidazole resistance was detected in 28 of 90 isolates by E test and nine of 98 by screening agar. The screening agar detected none of the four clarithromycin resistant isolates detected by the E test. Conclusions—The screening agar method is not sufficiently sensitive to be used alone.