Infection Control - Antibiotic Susceptibility

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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 usually provides an effective treatment against the organism, whereas a low percentage indicates that the organism is often 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 outpatients. The chart for outpatients represents all tests run in the Norton Healthcare laboratory on patients seen in outpatient clinics and private physician offices.

Click on the hospital name to get the 2009 Antibiotic susceptibility chart in a PDF document:

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