Antibiotic susceptibility charts
(Hospital antibiograms)
Sometimes laboratory tests are needed to find out more about the organisms (bacteria, for example) that are causing a patient's illness. By testing a sample collected from the patient, the hospital laboratory finds out what the organism is, and then determines how well various antibiotics work against that organism. Antibiotic susceptibility charts (also known as "antibiograms") summarize the percentage of tests where a particular organism was found to be susceptible to a particular antibiotic. A high percentage indicates that the antibiotic might provide an effective treatment against the organism, whereas a low percentage indicates that the organism is resistant to the antibiotic. Antibiotic susceptibility charts provide physicians with the information they need to make the best use of antibiotics.
Separate charts are made for each inpatient facility and, for 2007, for outpatients. The chart for outpatients represents all tests run in the Norton Healthcare laboratory on patients seen in emergency departments, outpatient clinics, and private physician offices.
Click on the hospital name to get the 2007 Antibiotic susceptibility chart in a PDF document:
