Susceptibility statistical data, consisting of the cumulative and ongoing summary of the patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility of clinically important microorganisms, are important to the practice of medicine on several levels.
If the methods used to create, record, and analyze the data are not reliable and consistent, many of the most important applications and benefits of the data will not be realized. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute document M39-A3– Analysis and Presentation of Cumulative Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test Data; Approved Guideline–Third Edition is an attempt: 1) to develop guidelines for clinical laboratories and their data analysis software providers for the routine generation and storage of susceptibility data, and for the compilation of susceptibility statistics; and 2) to provide suggestions to clinical laboratories for effective use of their cumulative susceptibility statistics.
