[Application of the diagnostic ability coefficient to the comparison of 3 identification miniaturized systems for identifying anaerobic bacteria].

The authors compare the performances of three identification systems for anaerobic bacteria. The computation of diagnosis ability coefficient (Descamps and Véron) made it possible to classify these systems to identify a batch of eighty strains coming from pathologic samples. The results are very close. This study shows profile catalogues' short coming and the disadvantages of their use which appears to be insufficiently critical. Every-day practice of these supplementary tests and the use of gas-liquid chromatography seem necessary to identify completely the anaerobic bacteria of the studied batch.