Summary: To respond to disease quickly, initial antibiotic treatments are usually based on symptoms, the physician’s experience, and knowledge of diseases currently circulating in the community or hospital. This empiric approach is supported by the availability of antibiotics that control a wide variety of pathogen species. As a backup, pathogen samples (blood, sputum, urine, and so on) are sent to commercial or hospital laboratories for pathogen identification and determination of susceptibility to a variety of antibiotics. (The key susceptibility parameter is the minimal inhibitory concentration, MIC.) Susceptibility information either confirms that the initial treatment was appropriate or indicates a need for change. ...
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