title: Antimicrobial Stewardship: How the Microbiology Laboratory Can Right the Ship.
abstract: Antimicrobial stewardship is a bundle of integrated interventions employed to optimize the use of antimicrobials in health care settings. While infectious-disease-trained physicians, with clinical pharmacists, are considered the main leaders of antimicrobial stewardship programs, clinical microbiologists can play a key role in these programs. This review is intended to provide a comprehensive discussion of the different components of antimicrobial stewardship in which microbiology laboratories and clinical microbiologists can make significant contributions, including cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility reports, enhanced culture and susceptibility reports, guidance in the preanalytic phase, rapid diagnostic test availability, provider education, and alert and surveillance systems. In reviewing this material, we emphasize how the rapid, and especially the recent, evolution of clinical microbiology has reinforced the importance of clinical microbiologists' collaboration with antimicrobial stewardship programs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, USA philippe.morency-potvin@umontreal.ca.|Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA.|Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morency-Potvin
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, USA.|Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, USA.|Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Weinstein
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008829:Microbiology; D010820:Physicians; D024382:Professional Role; D016730:Program Development
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents
keywords: antimicrobial stewardship; antimicrobials; microbiologist; optimal use; rapid tests; role; stewardship