The Usefulness of In Vitro Sensitivity Tests in Antibiotic Therapy

Abstract

There are usually 2 distinct bacterial populations, one sensitive and the other resistant to antibiotics. These are easily separated by wide differences in zone size in the paper disc method. The sensitivity of bacterial populations has been well corroborated with tube dilution tests. The zone of inhibition around an antibiotic disc should not replace clinical judgment in the choice of an antibiotic. The single disc technic is comparable to the tube dilution method in enabling the selection of antimicrobials for the treatment of most infections.