intermediate (I)
Chapter: 9b
When the clinical microbiology laboratory indicates that an organism is intermediate in susceptibility to a particular anti-microbial, what they mean is that the infection caused by that particular organism may be inhibited by attainable concentrations of that particular drug, if higher dosages can be used or if the infection involves a body site where the antimicrobial can be physiologically concentrated (such as the urinary tract). It also serves as a no-man's land to prevent technical artifacts from causing major discrepancies in interpretation. Call the lab or your friendly infectious disease specialist for advice.