The automation in clinical microbiology

Abstract

In past years the microbiological diagnosis has been favorably modified due to the significant current technological development.
The introduction of automated equipments to identify etiological agents of infectious diseases from the microbiological cultures and its corresponding studies of antimicrobial sensitivity, has involved a marked improvement in the time to achieve results, a greater sensitivity or positive samples both from blood cultures and other sterile fluids, an improvement and lengthening in identification of microorganisms, a greater reliability and reproducibility of the antimicrobial sensitivity studies, to answer to the great development of molecular biology and to changes derived in taxonomy of microorganisms. The objective of automation is to improve the sensitivity and specificity of microbiological tests shortening the time waiting for useful and reliable results.
Introduction of these methods depends in a greater measure of medical care level, the type of patient and the hospital’s size for a better clinical application without rule out the cost-benefit studies since we must to take into account the use and rationalization of available resources. Present paper shows some of our results and the impact of this technology on a third level medical care hospital.