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LIMS Microbiology Approval and Report
After all culture findings, organism identifications, and antibiotic sensitivity results have been entered, the report must be approved by an authorised user before it can be printed or sent to the patient. This article covers the approval process for microbiology reports and explains how to read the printed output.
Check the following before clicking Approve:
- All organism identification fields are complete.
- Antibiotic sensitivity results are entered for every organism group.
- The culture finding (growth / no growth) is clearly documented.
- If the culture is still in progress (e.g., extended incubation), do not approve yet — save as a draft and return when the culture is finalised.
- If the sample yielded no growth, confirm "No growth" is documented in the organism identification field.
- Open the report in Menu > Lab > Report Management.
- Review all entered values on screen.
- Click Approve.
- If any required fields are empty (as configured by the lab administrator), the system will show a validation warning. Fill in the missing values and click Approve again.
- Once approved:
- The report is locked — no further data entry is possible without cancelling the authorisation.
- The authorising microbiologist's name and the approval timestamp are embedded in the printed report.
- If SMS or email notifications are configured, the patient is notified automatically.
- After approval, click Print Report.
- The report opens as a formatted document. For microbiology, the layout typically includes:
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Patient details | Name, ID, date of birth, ward/department, referring doctor |
| Investigation details | Test name, specimen type, collection date, received date, report date |
| Culture findings | Preliminary observations and incubation results |
| Organism identification | Name of the isolated organism(s) |
| Antibiotic sensitivity table | One table per organism group, listing each antibiotic and its result (SENSITIVE / RESISTANT / Intermediate) |
| Authorisation | Approving microbiologist's name and signature |
| Comments | Any additional clinical notes entered during data entry |
- Print the report. The system records the print event and the investigation status updates to Report Printed.
If the report needs to be changed after approval (new organism identified after extended incubation, result correction):
- Open the approved report.
- Click Cancel Authorisation.
- Enter the reason for cancellation (required).
- The report reverts to draft status. The authorising signature is removed.
- Make the necessary corrections.
- Re-approve the report.
Note: Authorisation cancellations are fully logged. Depending on configuration, the lab manager receives an email notification each time an authorisation is cancelled.
The printed sensitivity table is the most clinically important part of a microbiology report. Clinicians use it to select an effective antibiotic for treatment.
| Antibiotic | Result |
|---|---|
| Amoxicillin | RESISTANT |
| Co-amoxiclav | RESISTANT |
| Trimethoprim | SENSITIVE |
| Nitrofurantoin | SENSITIVE |
| Ciprofloxacin | Intermediate |
| Gentamicin | SENSITIVE |
SENSITIVE — the organism is likely to respond to this antibiotic at standard doses. RESISTANT — do not use this antibiotic for this infection. Intermediate — may be effective at higher doses or at sites where the antibiotic concentrates (e.g., urine for urinary tract infections).
After printing, distribute the report to the requesting clinician or the patient using the standard distribution workflow. See Issuing Reports.
For inpatients, the report is typically sent to the ward. For outpatients, the SMS/email notification with a link to the report is usually sufficient. A hard copy can also be given to the patient at the collecting centre.