Antimicrobial monitoring and evaluation

Effective antimicrobial use is an essential component of patient care. Drug use evaluation should include the prophylactic, therapeutic, and empiric use of antimicrobials. The infection control practitioner has the unique knowledge and skills in epidemiology to be effective in the monitoring and evaluation process. This review outlines a variety of techniques to monitor and evaluate trends in the use of antimicrobial agents in health care facilities. Methods related to antimicrobial monitoring and evaluation are summarized.