ASM Microbe 2025

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the most pressing global health challenges of the 21st century, threatening the effectiveness of treatments and burdening healthcare systems worldwide. Traditional diagnostic methods, while foundational, often result in delays that contribute to the empirical and sometimes inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Advances in molecular diagnostics now offer unprecedented speed and accuracy in identifying infectious pathogens and resistance markers. However, the full potential of these technologies is realized only when integrated thoughtfully into clinical workflows. Clinical Decision Support (CDS) software serves as a critical bridge between complex molecular data and real-time, evidence-based clinical decision-making. By providing clinicians with rapid, actionable insights, CDS systems enhance the stewardship of antimicrobials, reduce unnecessary antibiotic exposure, and help improve patient outcomes. This session will explore how molecular diagnostics, when paired with sophisticated CDS tools, can transform antimicrobial stewardship efforts, while also addressing current limitations and future directions.

Learning objectives:

 - Review the Current Landscape of Molecular Diagnostic Tools:

Survey the range of molecular diagnostic technologies available today, including PCR-based assays, and syndromic testing panels.

- Evaluate the Evidence and Clinical Guidelines:

Analyze the clinical evidence supporting the use of molecular diagnostics in infectious disease management, and review current guideline recommendations from leading health authorities.

- Explore Clinical Decision Support Systems:

Examine how CDS software can interpret molecular data and deliver concise, evidence-based treatment recommendations at the point of care.

 - Discuss Limitations and Challenges:

Identify barriers to widespread adoption, including issues related to cost, data interpretation, accuracy, integration with existing electronic health records, and the potential for over-reliance on technology.

Interactive Q&A Session:

Provide an opportunity for participants to engage with presenters, ask questions, and discuss real-world experiences in implementing molecular diagnostics and CDS tools in antimicrobial stewardship programs

The role of the microbiology laboratory and the choice of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) method is crucial to guide determining the appropriate treatment for severe infections in critically ill patients. Delayed or inaccurate results, especially for patients with multi-drug resistant infections, can lead to less effective treatment and potential mortality.

Accurate minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) data can reduce turn-around times and favorably impact therapeutic decisions. The use of new generation therapeutics like sulbactam/durlobactam and MIC results for determining optimal treatment are critical in the face of growing antibiotic resistance. The availability of accurate broth microdilution-based MICs for new antibiotics can help improve patient outcomes and reduce the lengths-of-stay, therapeutic dosages and duration, adverse reactions, and costs.

Actions taken by the antimicrobial stewardship team to enforce the judicious use of antimicrobials are most effective when supported by timely diagnostic information from and collaboration with microbiology laboratory personnel. Effective collaborations among microbiologists, clinicians, the antimicrobial stewardship team, and policy makers can help improve patient care and meet the challenges of increased antibiotic resistance in a post-Covid world.

This multidisciplinary session explores the evolving role of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) from the perspectives of an infectious disease physician, clinical pharmacist, and clinical microbiologist. As resistance patterns shift and new antimicrobials emerge, AST must deliver rapid, accurate, and actionable results to guide effective treatment and stewardship.

• The infectious disease physician will highlight the clinical implications of AST timing and scope, focusing on how reflex testing protocols and timely updates influence patient care.
• The pharmacist’s perspective will center on optimizing antibiotic selection, PK/PD principles, and Antibiotic Stewardship.
• The clinical microbiologist will discuss diagnostic optimization & stewardship, the practical challenges of implementing updated breakpoints and using customized approaches to susceptibility testing to support early, targeted therapy.

Standard microbiology testing often depends on the recovery and culture of viable organisms, limiting its use. NGS has been successfully used for various applications, but adoption can be challenging due to complexity and resources required. These limitations result in most clinical laboratories depending on testing at reference laboratories, which is associated with high costs and less-than-ideal turnaround times. During this workshop, you will learn about the development and implementation of an automated, targeted metagenomic NGS assay, and how adopting in-house NGS testing for rapid microbial detection can improve time to test result, test interpretation, diagnostic stewardship, and overall operating costs.