The microbiology events table

Table source: Hospital database.

Table purpose: Contains microbiology information, including cultures acquired and associated sensitivities.

Number of rows: 69,547

Links to:

  • PATIENTS on SUBJECT_ID
  • ADMISSIONS on SUBJECT_ID

Table columns

Name Data type
ROW_IDINT
SUBJECT_IDINT
COLLECTION_DATEDATETIME(0)
VERIFICATION_DATEDATETIME(0)
TEST_NAMEVARCHAR(100)
ORGANISMVARCHAR(100)
DRUGS_TESTEDVARCHAR(100)

Detailed description

SUBJECT_ID

An identifier that specifies the patient: SUBJECT_ID is unique to a patient.

COLLECTION_DATE

COLLECTION_DATE records the date at which the sample or fluid was collected from the patient.

VERIFICATION_DATE

VERIFICATION_DATE indicates the date when the sample was tested and the result verified in the laboratory.

TEST_NAME

TEST_NAME describes the type of microbiological laboratory investigation performed on the collected clinical specimen. In this dataset, it primarily represents antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) conducted on samples such as blood, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), urine, or other clinical specimens. This test identifies the causative microorganism and evaluates its susceptibility or resistance to a panel of antimicrobial agents..

ORGANISM

ORGANISM captures the name of the microorganism isolated from the clinical specimen during microbiological testing. It represents the identified bacterial species or genus responsible for the infection, standardized after removing laboratory annotations such as colony counts or growth descriptors.

DRUG_TESTED

DRUG_TESTED Lists the antibiotics tested for susceptibility. Common examples include Amikacin, Ceftriaxone, Meropenem, Ciprofloxacin, and Vancomycin. Drug test results are reported as S (Susceptible), I (Intermediate), or R (Resistant), indicating the organism’s response to each tested antimicrobial agent.