National Minimum Data Set for Antimicrobial Resistance Management: Toward Global Surveillance System

Background: success of infection treatment depends on the availability of accurate, reliable, and comprehensive data, information, and knowledge at the point of therapeutic decision-making. the identification of a national minimum data set will support the development and implementation of an effective surveillance system. the goal of this study was to develop a national antimicrobial resistance surveillance minimum data set. methods: in this cross-sectional and descriptive study, data were collected from selected pioneering countries and organizations which have national or international antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems. a minimum data set checklist was extracted and validated. the ultimate data elements of the minimum data set were determined by applying the delphi technique.results: through the delphi technique, we obtained 80 data elements in 8 axes. the resistance data categories comprised basic, clinical, electronic reporting, infection control, microbiology, pharmacy, world health organization-derived, and expert-recommended data. relevance coding was extracted based on the iranian electronic health record coding system. conclusion: this study provides a set of data elements and a schematic framework for the implementation of an antimicrobial resistance surveillance system. a uniform minimum data set was created based on key informants’ opinions to cover essential needs in the early implementation of a global antimicrobial resistance surveillance system in iran.