Leveraging patient data to detect systematic shifts in daptomycin susceptibility testing associated with reduced prescribing

In this study, we report a critical incident of technical variability using daptomycin gradient diffusion methodology that was undetectable using routine quality control metrics. More broadly, this study underscores the opportunity to incorporate additional modalities, such as clinical patient results, into a comprehensive quality assurance plan to ensure high-quality antimicrobial susceptibility testing results. Given the dynamic spread of multidrug resistance in bacteria, accurate susceptibility testing results are critical to identify and respond to shifts in local epidemiology.