All test results are reported to the requesting clinician and location stated on each specimen request form. Failure to provide accurate information may result in the laboratory being unable to report results to the requestor’s intended location. Results from the laboratory are reported to WebICE for viewing by medical practitioners. Prior to contacting the laboratory to enquire about a result status, please ensure the report hasn’t already been submitted to WebICE; and please check the turnaround time for the test in question as this will indicate whether a test may still be in progress.
- Enquiries regarding results should be made to the appropriate location. For technical enquiries such as: delays to results or reasons for sample rejection please contact the laboratory.
- Enquiries regarding interpretation of results, significance of growth reports and interpretation of antibiotic profiles should be made to the microbiology secretaries to allow for clinical advice to be given.
Reports are issued at several stages throughout an investigation. These are:
- Specimen received: some tests will automatically send a received report when booked into the department.
- Interim report – further results to follow: these reports are issued when new results are available, but the investigation is still ongoing. These are often released if microscopy has been requested on a specimen, with culture investigations to follow. Further results to follow may include additional growth reports or susceptibility profiles.
- Final report: these reports are released when all investigations are complete.
Report comments
In line with quality guidelines, many reports include comments to aid the clinician with interpretation of results.
Report comments may be added to inform the user of tests unable to be performed due to the nature of the sample received. An example of this may be:
- Cell Count: Not tested. Due to presence of a blood clot, we were unable to accurately determine a cell count for this sample.
Other comments are automatically added to all reports to inform about antibiotic interpretation. These are:
- ‘S’ = (Susceptible at standard dosing regimen): A microorganism is categorised as ‘S’ when there is a high likelihood of therapeutic success using a standard dosing regimen of the agent.
- ‘R’ = (Resistant): A microorganism is categorised as ‘R’ when there is a high likelihood of therapeutic failure even when there is increased exposure.
- ‘I’ = (Susceptible at Increased exposure): A microorganism is categorised as ‘I’ when there is a high likelihood of therapeutic success because exposure to the agent is increased by adjusting the dosing regimen or by its concentration at the site of infection.
- (IV) For intravenous administration only
- (PO) For oral administration only
- (TOP) For topical administration only
- (CT) Combination Therapy.
For further information on these comments please visit: https://www.eucast.org/newsiandr/.
If a specimen has been referred to an external laboratory for testing, this will be stated on the report alongside the result. An example of this would be:
- This result is supplied by a reference laboratory in Newcastle.