Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data

Analytics I (Informatics)

Prerequisites
1. Use of Microsoft Excel® is required to complete this activity
2. This activity is the first activity in a sequential 5-activity series.

Student instructions
1. If you have questions about this activity, please contact your instructor for assistance.
2. You will review the de-identified chart that accompanies this activity. Your instructor has
provided you with a link to the Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) activity.
Click on 2: Launch EHR to review the patient chart and begin this activity.
3. Refer to the patient chart and any suggested resources to complete this activity.
4. Document your answers directly on this activity document as you complete the activity.
When you are finished, you will save this activity document to your device and upload
this activity document with your answers to your Learning Management System (LMS).

Introduction
This activity will evaluate a microbiology report of culture and sensitivity results for various
microbes and antibiotics. Microsoft Excel® will be used to analyze and compile the data to draw
meaningful conclusions. You do not need to turn in the pivot tables you will create in this
activity to your instructor. You will only turn in your answers to the questions below.

The activity
Foundational learning
Review the resource, About Culture & Sensitivity Screening (found under 1: Overview &
Resources along with this activity document) and answer the following questions.
1. Why is a sensitivity analysis done? Sensitivity analyses are conducted to determine
whether bacteria are resistant to specific drugs, such as antibiotics.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 1

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
 2. What is needed for a sensitivity analysis? In this instance, the sample was obtained from
the urine sample already provided to the lab. However, in other cases, it can be
collected using a swab from the infected site or through specific blood samples. A
culture is then performed using the collected sample.
3. How is the sensitivity analysis performed? In this instance, the sample was obtained
from the urine sample already provided to the lab. However, in other cases, it can be
collected using a swab from the infected site or through specific blood samples. A
culture is then performed using the collected sample.
4. What does susceptible mean in a sensitivity analysis? "Susceptible" indicates that the
antibiotic used effectively inhibits bacterial growth, meaning it is successful in treating
the bacterial infection.
5. What does intermediate mean in a sensitivity analysis? "Intermediate" means the
antibiotic can inhibit bacterial growth but may require a higher dosage or extended
treatment duration to be considered effective.
6. What does resistant mean in a sensitivity analysis? "Resistant" is the opposite of
"susceptible," meaning the bacteria can continue to grow despite the presence of the
antibiotic. In this case, the antibiotic is ineffective and should not be used to treat that
specific bacterial infection.
Application
Review the Culture & Sensitivity (C&S) Report on the Notes Tab of the de-identified EHR that
accompanies this activity under 2: Launch EHR and answer the following questions.
7. What was the specimen used in this C&S? Urine
8. What organism was cultured from this specimen? Escherichia Coli
9. Which antibiotics were tested against this specimen? Tetracycline, Ampicillin,
Cefpodoxime, Cephalexin, Nitrofurantoin, and Tri/Sulfa.
10. Based on the Culture & Sensitivity (C&S) Report in the EHR, which antibiotic(s) should the
provider prescribe for this patient, and why? Nitrofurantoin should be used because it
had the highest susceptibility rate.
Data organization & analysis
The General Hospital is conducting an internal review of the culture and sensitivity results from
patients treated for infections of the urine, blood, and sputum over the last year. A report has
been generated of all cultures positive for either E. coli, Streptococcus, or K. pneumoniae
bacteria and the antibiotics these bacteria were sensitive to. Open the resource Mass
Sensitivities Export (found under 1: Overview & Resources along with this activity document) in

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 2

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
Microsoft Excel®. A file with 5 columns of data will open. Follow the steps described below to
analyze the data, then answer the related questions.

Notice that it’s difficult to see trends in the data just by viewing the data points (rows of data in
the file). Pivot tables will be used to compile and summarize the data for each variable.
 Click and drag from on field 1A to field 1100E to highlight and select all the data.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 3

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
  Go to Insert then PivotTable. Leave the default settings and select OK.

The pivot table building tool will open in a new tab.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 4

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
First, determine which antibiotic is most effective (Susceptible) for each type of specimen. To
do so, look at the number of susceptible results for each antibiotic by specimen type. A table
with each specimen as a row and each antibiotic as the column is one way to view these data.
To make this table:
 Click and drag the Susceptibilities field to the Filters area. This will allow view of
only the Susceptible (effective) results.
 Click and drag the Specimen field to the Rows area. This will display each
specimen as a row in the table.
 Click and drag the Antibiotics field to the Columns area. This will display each
antibiotic as a column in the table.
 Click and drag the Susceptibilities field to the ∑ Values area. It should then
appear as ‘Count of Susceptibilities’. This will populate the table with the total
number of susceptibilities for each combination of specimen and antibiotic.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 5

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
The resulting table should appear as follows:

Only display the results that have a Susceptibilities result of ‘Susceptible’ (meaning the
antibiotic was effective). To do so:

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 6

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
  Select the dropdown arrow in cell B1 where it currently says ‘(All)’.
 Choose Select Multiple Items and remove the checks so that only ‘Susceptible’ is
checked. Then OK.

Based on the resulting pivot table, answer questions 11-13 below by determining which
antibiotic has the highest susceptibility count for each specimen type. Then answer questions
14-15 based on the Grand Total for each antibiotic.

Questions
11. Which antibiotic is most effective in sputum-based infections? Explain. Ciprofloxacin was
the most effective with 28, this was much higher than all other antibiotics tested in the
urine.
12. Which antibiotic is most effective in blood-based infections? Explain. Tetracycline
demonstrated the highest effectiveness in treating 23 blood-based infections.
13. Which antibiotic is most effective in urine-based infections? Explain. Ciprofloxacin was
the most effective in the sputum test, outperforming all other antibiotics in this
category.
14. Which antibiotic is least effective overall? Explain. I believe Ciprofloxacin is the optimal
choice for treatment, as it demonstrated the highest effectiveness in 2 out of the 3
samples tested (sputum and urine).

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 7

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
 15. Which antibiotic is most effective overall? Explain. Tri/Sulfa drugs were found to be the
least effective and should be avoided in treatment, as they were not the most effective
in any of the samples tested.
Now, determine which specimen has the most resistance for each type of microbe. To do so,
change the Susceptibilities filter in cell B1 from ‘Susceptible’ to ‘Resistant’. Answer question 16
below.
Question
16. Which type of specimen has the most resistance? Explain. Blood samples exhibited the
highest resistance, accounting for 129 out of the 372 tests conducted.

Next, assess which antibiotic is most effective for the various types of infections. Return to the
Culture & Sensitivity Data tab and create a new pivot table. If your columns aren’t already
selected, repeat that step and then choose Insert and PivotTable and OK.
 Click and drag the ‘Susceptibilities’ field to the Filters area. This will allow the susceptible
(effective) results to be isolated.
 Click and drag the ‘Specimen’ field to the Filters area. This will allow the type of
specimen for the results to also be isolated.
 Click and drag the ‘Antibiotics’ field to the Columns area. This will display each antibiotic
type as a column in the table.
 Click and drag the ‘Microbes’ field to the Rows area. This will display each microbe type
as a row in the table.
 Click and drag the ‘Susceptibilities’ field to the ∑ Values area. This will populate the table
with the total number of susceptibilities for each microbe and antibiotic combination.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 8

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
  Specify the susceptibility of ‘Susceptible’ in cell B1 to display only the effective results.
 Specify the specimen of ‘Urine’ in cell B2 to display only the results for urine.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 9

Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
Use the results in the pivot table to answer question 17 below.

Question
17. Which antibiotic would you recommend be tried with a urine-based E. coli infection?
Explain. Ciprofloxacin demonstrated the highest effectiveness for urine samples, with an
E. coli level of 11, the most favorable result among all antibiotics tested.

 Change the specimen filter (cell B2) from Urine to Blood and answer question 18.

Question
18. Which antibiotic would you recommend be tried with a blood-based Streptococcus
infection? Explain. Ampicillin demonstrates the highest effectiveness and susceptibility.

Lastly, determine if overall age plays a role in susceptibilities. Return to the original Culture &
Sensitivity Data set tab and insert a new pivot table again. Follow the steps below:

 Click and drag the ‘Susceptibilities’ field to the Filters area. This will allow the susceptible
(effective) results to be specified.
 Click and drag the ‘Age’ field to the Rows area. This will display each age as a row in the
table.
 Click and drag the ‘Susceptibilities’ field to the ∑ Values area. It should show as ‘Count of
Susceptibilities’. This will populate the table with the total number of susceptibilities for
each age.

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 1

0
Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
  In the Susceptibilities filter (cell B1), specify ‘Susceptible’. The resulting table should
appear as follows.

When analyzing ages and/or dates, it’s often helpful to group them by ranges. In this case,
group the ages by 10 to display the results for people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc. To do so:

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 1

1
Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
  Click on one of the ages in Column A. For example, age 18 in cell A4. Choose Analyze
and Group Field as demonstrated in the screenshot below.

 Group by 10 starting at 20 and ending at 100.

Answer question 19 below based on the results. Disregard the data for <20 as that segment
only includes 2 years (18 and 19) whereas the rest includes 10 years.
Question
19. Does age make a difference in susceptibilities? Explain. Yes, this is true because immune
systems vary across different age groups, with susceptibility changing as an individual
ages.
Critical Thinking Question

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 1

2
Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024
 20. Summarize your findings in 100 words or less to share with the General Hospital
administration. The misuse of antibiotics can be effectively addressed, saving both time
and money for both hospitals and patients during treatment. Proper testing to
understand bacterial susceptibility is a crucial tool that should be employed to ensure
antibiotics are used appropriately. All patients should receive the antibiotic that is
tested and proven to be the most effective for their infection, without relying solely on
age, race, gender, or any other demographic factors. Laboratory tests should be
conducted and processed for infectious complaints to ensure the correct antibiotic is
administered, aiding in a quicker recovery.

Submit your work

Document your answers directly on this activity document as you complete the activity. When
you are finished, save this activity document to your device and upload this activity document
with your answers to your Learning Management System (LMS). If you have any questions
about submitting your work to your LMS, please contact your instructor.

Learning objectives
1. Analyze technologies for health information management (4)
2. Interpret statistics for health services (5)

References
Case-Lo, C., & Wu, B. (2020, December 15). Sensitivity analysis. Healthline.
https://www.healthline.com/health/sensitivity-analysis

EHR Go Knowledge Activity: Orientation to Data Analytics I (Informatics) IK1023.3 1

3
Archetype Innovations LLC ©2024