Collaborative Antimicrobial Stewardship: Working with Microbiology

Abstract

There have been tremendous advances in methodologies available for detection and identification of organisms causing infections. Providers can now obtain identification results and antimicrobial susceptibility results in a shorter period of time. However, declining health care resources highlight the importance of selecting the right test at the right time to maximize diagnostic benefits. Therefore, the role of the antimicrobial stewardship team in the clinical microbiology laboratory has expanded to include diagnostic stewardship and provision of guidance on test selection for diagnosis and management of infection. This review focuses on the experience of our group in collaborative stewardship, emphasizing successes and challenges.

Keywords: Antibiogram; Antimicrobial stewardship; Clostridium difficile; Infectious diseases diagnosis; Molecular panels; Rapid testing; Role of microbiology laboratory.