Spanish Antibiogram Committee (COESANT) recommendations for cumulative antibiogram reports

Area of Science:

• Clinical Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance

Background:

• Cumulative antibiogram reports are essential for monitoring antimicrobial susceptibility trends.
• Previous guidelines were established by the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) in 2014.
• Updated European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) definitions require revised reporting standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To unify the methodology for preparing cumulative antibiogram reports in Spanish clinical microbiology laboratories.
• To establish a standardized approach for data aggregation and comparison across different centers.
• To facilitate accurate local and national surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility evolution.

Main Methods:

• Development of recommendations based on SEIMC Procedure No. 51 (2014).
• Incorporation of recent EUCAST (2019) modifications to clinical interpretive categories.
• Guidance on unifying the preparation of cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility reports.

Main Results:

• A standardized framework for generating cumulative antibiogram reports is proposed.
• The recommendations aim to enhance data comparability between laboratories.
• Implementation will support more robust antimicrobial resistance surveillance.

Conclusions:

• Standardized cumulative antibiograms are crucial for effective antimicrobial stewardship.
• Unified reporting facilitates accurate tracking of antimicrobial susceptibility trends.
• These recommendations will improve the reliability of national antimicrobial resistance surveillance data.