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

Abstract
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.