AUGUST 30, 2024

The Role of Rapid Diagnostic Testing and New Antimicrobials in Clinical Practice; Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance

Paul P. Cook, MD, FACP, FIDSA

Antimicrobial resistance is part of natural selection and poses a serious problem in clinical medicine. Traditional methods for identifying microorganisms and testing for resistance to antimicrobials involve obtaining specimens (eg, blood, tissue, urine, pus, sputum) for culture followed by growing the organisms with antimicrobial agents to determine susceptibilities to antimicrobial agents. Although this process is very effective, it frequently takes 3 to 4 days