Effective reporting of susceptibility test results.

An overview of effective reporting of susceptibility test results is presented. Areas included in effective antimicrobial reporting are selective reporting of antimicrobials within drug families and by specific drug-organism combinations, automatic computer-delivered susceptibilities to patient-care areas, "flagged" results that are unusual and/or could seriously effect patient care, and the use of a coherent report format. Also included are areas that may significantly enhance antimicrobial result formats such as the reporting of cost information with susceptibility results, reporting "predictive sensitivities" based on institutional antibiograms, and reporting specific drugs for therapy based on gram's stain, and preliminary and final culture information.