Comparative evaluation of RapID ANA and API 20 A for identification of anaerobic bacteria.

This study evaluated RapID ANA and API 20 A systems for identification of anaerobic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria isolated from oral and non-oral infections using standard reference methods. A total of 480 isolates were tested in both systems. The RapID ANA system correctly identified 74% of the strains to species level and 17.5% to genus level; 5% were misidentified. The API 20 A system correctly identified 50% of the strains to species level and 24.5% to genus level; 8% were misidentified and 17.5% could not be identified by the API 20 A system.