CLSI Blog Articles

Read the latest articles about CLSI and laboratory standards in the official CLSI Blog. Browse our most recent blog articles below.

Implementation of the CLSI Method for Direct Disk Diffusion Testing From Positive Blood Cultures

The CLSI AST Subcommittee has developed and published breakpoints for direct blood culture disk diffusion (DD) testing of several antimicrobial agents for Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This project was undertaken to provide antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results earlier than traditional AST methods. Rapidity of susceptibility testing and reporting is particularly important for bloodstream infections. Studies have shown that mortality from sepsis increases every hour that the time to first appropriate antimicrobial is delayed. CLSI developed this method to provide laboratories with a direct-from-blood culture testing approach which is both simple to perform and inexpensive.

CLSI’s June 2022 AST Committees Week Meetings

CLSI’s June 2022 AST Committees Week Meetings will be held 25-28 June at Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel. There will be nine in-person meetings. Virtual pre-meetings of the Methods Development and Standardization Working Group and Quality Control Working Group are scheduled on Wednesday, 15 June 2022. For the first time, CLSI will be hosting the AST Committees Week Meetings in hybrid format, to accommodate attendees who prefer to participate virtually.

Dr. Harry Hannon’s Passing

We are deeply saddened to announce the death of long-time CLSI volunteer William Harry Hannon, PhD. For most of his long career, Dr. Hannon was known for his leadership in developing and supporting public health laboratory newborn screening using dried blood spots, preventing infant death, and enhancing the lives of children and families both here in the US and around the globe.

Explore CLSI’s New Implementation Guides

Created to help your lab staff properly implement the procedures in our Evaluation Protocol (EP) standards, CLSI’s new implementation guides can help your laboratory verify test precision, accuracy, and other important performance characteristics. The guides are intended to be used by the laboratory scientists who perform verification testing. They describe the procedures necessary for a medical laboratory to verify a manufacturer’s or a laboratory-developed test’s performance claims.

Celebrate Medical Laboratory Professionals Week 2022 With CLSI

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, April 24-30, 2022, is an annual celebration of medical laboratory professionals and pathologists who play a vital role in health care and patient advocacy.

Interview With CLSI Volunteer, Paula Ladwig, MS, MT(ASCP)

We spoke with long-time CLSI volunteer Paula Ladwig, MS, MT(ASCP) about her experience volunteering with CLSI.

Provide Accurate AST Results With the Newest Edition of M100

The 32nd Edition of M100—Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing will be publishing soon, and is available for preorder now. M100 reports the antibiotic breakpoints that help medical laboratorians throughout the world provide accurate test results to health care providers. These breakpoints aid laboratorians in selecting the most appropriate and effective antimicrobial treatments for patients. The 32nd edition of M100 is available alone or in several package options with its companions, M02 and M07. M100 is also available in a convenient electronic subscription format, M100 Plus.

World AIDS Day 2021

World AIDS Day is acknowledged every year on the first of December to raise awareness, show support for people living with HIV, and unite in the fight against HIV.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is celebrated from November 18-24 every year. The 2021 theme, “Spread Awareness, Stop Resistance,” calls on One Health stakeholders, policymakers, health care providers, and the general public to be antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Awareness champions. A media toolkit is available for those who wish to participate.

Resolving and Preventing Laboratory Deficiencies

CLSI volunteer Luci Berte recently presented information about the 10 Most Common Laboratory Deficiencies: Tools to Resolve and Prevent Them on the ASCLS podcast “Off the Bench.” 1 P.A.C.E.® education credit is available by participating in the self-study module associated with this episode of the podcast, and is free for ASCLS members.