PURPOSE
The main purposes of the Calibrated Dichotomous Susceptibility (CDS) Testing SIG are:
To serve as a platform and forum for the discussion of matters pertaining to phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility testing principally related to the CDS method.
To inform users of current additions and modifications to the CDS method.
SCOPE
To report additions and modifications to the CDS method to the CDS users SIG.
To provide expert guidance concerning the phenotypic testing and interpretation of antibiotic susceptibility testing using the CDS method.
To support and advance phenotypic susceptibility testing in microorganisms with emerging resistance mechanisms, unusual, or complex profiles particularly relevant to the conduct of the CDS method.
To provide a forum for users to discuss shared experiences and contemporary phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility testing concerns.
BACKGROUND
The first published description of the Calibrated Dichotomous Susceptibility (CDS) Test appeared in Pathology in 1975 and was soon adopted by diagnostic laboratories in Australasia. The CDS users group was formed and the feedback from this group stimulated and assisted in the further development of the test. An annual workshop of the CDS users group held by the CDS Reference Laboratory team, lead by Prof Sydney Bell, has been conducted at ASM conferences since 1983. The CDS Users group was formally recognised as a SIG in 2017,and has continued to actively participate in the ASM annual conference by conducting informative workshops and publishing relevant posters since that time. All presentations and publications are subsequently published as newsletters on the CDS Website: http://cdstest.net for future reference.
OTHER
With a strong commitment to phenotypic testing and interpretation of antibiotic susceptibility the CDS SIG has not only conducted its own workshops but has participated in a number of symposia and publications at national scientific meetings. These include featuring in the 2004 ASM Publication ‘Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing: Methods and practices with an Australian perspective’ and has participated as a guest of the Antimicrobial Special Interest Group workshop.