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Problems arising in antimicrobial therapy due to false susceptibility testing
1Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, New York 11501, USA.
Journal of Chemotherapy (Florence, Italy)
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Antibiotic susceptibility testing guides treatment but may not reflect patient outcomes. Clinical response remains the definitive test for antibiotic effectiveness in vivo.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Clinical Pharmacology
Background:
- In vitro antibiotic susceptibility testing is standard for guiding antimicrobial therapy.
- Laboratory results may not accurately predict in vivo treatment efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight discrepancies between in vitro and in vivo antibiotic susceptibility.
- To emphasize the importance of clinical outcomes in evaluating antibiotic effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- Review of factors influencing in vitro-in vivo discrepancies in antibiotic susceptibility testing.
- Analysis of methodological issues including pH and antibiotic concentration variations.
Main Results:
- In vitro testing can yield false susceptibility results due to technical or environmental factors.
- Discrepancies arise from variations in infection site conditions (pH, antibiotic concentration).
Conclusions:
- Antibiotic susceptibility testing serves as a preliminary guideline.
- Patient's clinical response is the ultimate determinant of antibiotic effectiveness in vivo.