| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CHROMagar Candida (CaC) is increasingly being reported as a medium used to differentiate <it>Candida albicans </it>from non-<it>albicans Candida </it>(NAC) species. Rapid identification of NAC can assist the clinician in selecting appropriate antifungal therapy. CaC is a differential chromogenic medium designed to identify <it>C. albicans</it>, <it>C. krusei</it>, and <it>C. tropicalis </it>based on colony color and morphology. Some reports have proposed that CaC can also reliably identify <it>C. dubliniensis </it>and <it>C. glabrata</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluated the usefulness of CaC in the identification of <it>C. dubliniensis</it>, <it>C. famata</it>, <it>C. firmetaria</it>, <it>C. glabrata</it>, <it>C. guilliermondii</it>, <it>C. inconspicua</it>, <it>C. kefyr</it>, <it>C. lipolytica</it>, <it>C. lusitaniae</it>, <it>C. norvegensis</it>, <it>C. parapsilosis</it>, and <it>C. rugosa</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most NAC produced colonies that were shades of pink, lavender, or ivory. Several isolates of <it>C. firmetaria </it>and all <it>C. inconspicua </it>produced colonies difficult to differentiate from <it>C. krusei</it>. Most <it>C. rugosa </it>isolates produced unique colonies with morphology like <it>C. krusei </it>except in a light blue-green color. <it>C. glabrata </it>isolates produced small dark violet colonies that could be differentiated from the pink and lavender colors produced by other species. All seventeen isolates of <it>C. dubliniensis </it>produced green colonies similar to those produced by <it>C. albicans</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>C. glabrata </it>and <it>C. rugosa </it>appear distinguishable from other species using CaC. Some NAC, including <it>C. firmetaria </it>and <it>C. inconspicua</it>, could be confused with <it>C. krusei </it>using this medium.</p>
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