Abstract
The overall rate of antibiotic resistance within health care institutions is dependent on data accumulated from antimicrobial testing performed on individual isolates. The type of testing method may vary depending on the bacterial species. A consensus document entitled “Analysis and Presentation of Cumulative Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test Data, M39-A2,” produced by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, presents a guideline for clinical laboratories when preparing a cumulative antibiogram. This document includes detailed recommendations for the collection, storage, analysis, and presentation of data. The antibiogram should also state the methods used to measure antibiotic resistance, the number of isolates tested in the analysis period, and the time period of analysis. Thus this cumulative report assists the health care institution by identifying trends or unusual patterns in microorganisms.
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