Two chromogenic media, Albicans ID and CHROMagar Candida agar plates, were compared with a reference medium, Sabouraud-chloramphenicol agar, and standard methods for the identification of yeast species. This study involved 951 clinical specimens. The detection rates for the two chromogenic media for polymicrobial specimens were 20% higher than that for the Sabouraud-chloramphenicol agar plates. The rates of identification of Candida albicans for Albicans ID and CHROMagar Candida agar plates were, respectively, 37.0 and 6.0% after 24 h of incubation and 93.6 and 92.2% after 72 h of incubation, with specificities of 99.8 and 100%. Furthermore, CHROMagar Candida plates identified 13 of 14 Candida tropicalis and 9 of 12 Candida krusei strains after 48 h of incubation.

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objeCtives: Approximately 483 patients in Slovakia are living with HIV, with 68 new infections in 2013. Raltegravir (RAL) is reimbursed for HIV-1-infected treatmentnaive (TN) and treatment-experienced (TE) patients in Slovakia. The objective of this analysis was to determine the cost-effectiveness of dolutegravir (DTG) relative to RAL. Methods: This study is based on the Anti-Retroviral Analysis by Monte Carlo Individual Simulation model. A microsimulation approach simulates the outcome of anti-retroviral therapy by following virological suppression and CD4+ cell count throughout patients' lifetime. Each treatment was assigned its specific efficacy, adverse events rates, and cardiovascular risk according to lipid parameters evolution; and costs and quality of life values were allocated by CD4+ cell count categories and attached to specific events. The analysis was performed from payer's perspective in Slovak settings. Results: Over a lifetime, in TN patients the estimated total costs for the DTG strategy compared with the RAL were lower (220,731€ versus 222,079€ ). The savings for DTG are mostly associated to the lower drug acquisition cost. The life expectancy was similar for the DTG and RAL (31.23 years and 30.82 years). This translated into 0.057 QALYs. DTG was dominant treatment strategy in TN patients. In TE patients, the estimated total costs were slightly higher for the DTG strategy compared with the RAL (192,682€ versus 188,059€ ). These additional costs for the DTG are related to patients living longer with DTG over

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