[The problems of the report in microbiological examination--ideological and technological aspects]

In the report of microbiological examination, clinicians are required to differentiate infectious diseases from other diseases, to determine the causative organism, and to select suitable antimicrobial agents for chemotherapy. To obtain accurate results, good material must be collected and suitable methods applied. In the microbiological field, rapid diagnosis is very important. New immunological and genetical new methods are being used, to obtain earlier laboratory results and these methods will be commonly used in the not-too-distant future. On the other hand, recently opportunistic infections have increased in hospital. The causative organism and the clinical role of such isolates are very difficult to determine. Such information as the underlying disease, number of leucocytes, and premedication, of the patients must be studied carefully. In future, the laboratory should play the role of the information center for infectious diseases and chemotherapy, but there are very few medical specialists in this field in Japan, which makes it very hard to establish these systems in many hospitals.