Identification of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata within 1.5 hours directly from positive blood culture bottles with a shortened peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization protocol

Candida albicans and Candida glabrata can be identified in blood culture bottles within 2.5 h using peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization. A 1.25-h protocol was compared to the standard with 40 positive (clinical and spiked) blood culture bottles tested in batches of 5. All C. albicans (15) and C. glabrata (16) isolates, alone or mixed, were identified correctly using both protocols, whereas 18 isolates (five other species) were negative by both protocols. This shortened method will significantly reduce the time to identification.