LIMS Microbiology Antibiotic Sensitivity
Once an organism is identified, the next step is recording its sensitivity to each antibiotic in the test panel. The LIMS supports multiple organisms per report — each organism gets its own independent antibiotic panel, making it straightforward to report polymicrobial infections.
The antibiotic panel for a microbiology investigation is configured by the lab administrator. It lists the antibiotics that are routinely tested for that specimen type (e.g., urine culture may include trimethoprim, nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, etc.). You do not need to create or select the panel — it appears automatically in the report entry screen.
- Open the microbiology report entry screen (from Menu > Lab > Report Management > New Report).
- Scroll to the Sensitivity or antibiotic panel section.
- For each antibiotic in the panel, select the result from the dropdown:
- SENSITIVE — The organism is susceptible.
- RESISTANT — The organism is not inhibited.
- Intermediate — Intermediate susceptibility.
- If an antibiotic was not tested (not applicable for this organism), leave the field empty.
- Click Save Report to save the draft.
When more than one organism is isolated from the same sample, each organism must be reported with its own separate antibiotic panel. The system manages this through organism groups.
- After entering results for the first organism, locate the Add Group button in the microbiology section.
- Enter a group name — typically the organism name (e.g., "E. coli", "K. pneumoniae"). This name is required before the group can be added.
- Click Add Group (or Confirm).
- The system creates a new section for this organism. The full antibiotic panel is automatically cloned into the new group — each antibiotic appears fresh with no result selected, ready for independent entry.
- In the new organism group, enter the organism identification in the memo field.
- Enter sensitivity results for each antibiotic in the cloned panel. These results are completely independent from the first organism's results.
- Repeat the Add Group process for any additional organisms.
- Save the report after all organisms are entered.
Without grouping, all antibiotic results would appear in one undifferentiated list and the clinician would not know which antibiotic is effective against which organism. With groups:
- Each organism is clearly labelled.
- The clinician can select the right antibiotic based on the specific pathogen causing the infection.
- Reports with multiple resistant organisms are presented clearly, supporting antibiotic stewardship decisions.
Before the report is approved, sensitivity results can be changed at any time:
- Reopen the report from the report management screen.
- Edit the dropdown values as needed.
- Save the report.
After approval, the report is locked. To correct a result post-approval, an authorised user must first cancel the authorisation, make the correction, and re-approve. See Microbiology Report Approval & Printing.
If you need to report a sensitivity result for an antibiotic that is not in the configured panel, contact the lab administrator. They can add the antibiotic to the master data and to the investigation's panel. See Antibiotic Master Data.
Once all organisms and sensitivity results are entered, proceed to approve and print the report. See Microbiology Report Approval & Printing.