Gradient strip minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)
Registry Details
| Area | Health Science |
| Lab name | Antibiotic Reference Laboratory |
| Lab location | Kenepuru Science Centre, Porirua |
| Test name | Gradient strip minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) |
| Organisms | Aerobic or facultative bacteria |
| Requested for surveillance | no |
| Notice required | no |
| Routine turnaround time | 4 working days for reference specimens |
| Culture requirements | Pure culture |
| Media requirements | A slope of any medium that supports the growth of the organism |
| Pre-transport requirements | Ambient temperature |
| Transport requirements | Ambient temperature |
| Unacceptable sample types | Clinical specimens will not be accepted. |
| How results reported | MIC (mg/L) and interpretation according to CLSI interpretive standards |
| Referral link | Form |
Details
In this test, a preformed antimicrobial gradient from the Etest strip diffuses into the agar medium inoculated with the test organism. The MIC is read directly from the scale printed on the Etest strip at the point where the ellipse of the growth inhibition intercepts the strip. An Etest MIC value that falls between the conventional two-fold dilutions is rounded up to the next two-fold dilution value before interpretation.