[Clinical microbiology as a basis of antimicrobial chemotherapy]

Clinical microbiology is a facet of medical microbiology which is dedicated to all aspects of human infectious disease diagnosis, especially in patients treated in hospitals. The specific tasks of such a laboratory can be solved at best, if it is integrated in the hospital and if there is close co-operation with clinical specialists. Different methods for susceptibility testing of isolated bacteria are possible: agar diffusion test, agar dilution test, bouillon dilution test etc., the results of which need to be interpreted considering further aspects. During antimicrobial chemotherapy certain tests are also necessary or useful. The objective of future developments is to avoid the need of cultures and to establish antibiotic profiles within hours to provide the clinician with relevant results.