In empirical therapy, a patient has proven or suspected infection, but the responsible microorganism is not yet unidentified. While the microorgainsim is being identified the doctor will usually administer the best choice of antibiotic that will be most active against the likely cause of infection usually a broad spectrum antibiotic. Empirical therapy is usually initiated before the doctor knows the exact identification of microorgansim causing the infection as the identification process make take several days in the laboratory.
What is one kind of therapy that may be used when a patience has an infection, but it has not been identified? Where do doctors perform microorganism identification testing? What kinds of antibiotics are most commonly used for empirical therapy? At what stage does a doctor begin empirical therapy? How long does the identification process take? What happens when a doctor doesn't know the microorganism yet? What happens in empirical therapy? When is empirical started?