Antibiotic Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections NOT FINISHED

Question 1

Which modern day test is used to indentify bacteria?

Answer 1

mass spectrometry

Question 2

What were the first antimicrobial agents?

Answer 2

carbolic acid used in surgery
salvarsan (arsenic) for syphilis
penicillin

Question 3

State the targets of the different classes of antibiotics and give examples.

Answer 3

• bacterial cell wall - beta lactams (penicillin, cephalosporins, carbepenems, monobactams)
• bacterial ribosomes (tetracycline, aminoglycosides)
• DNA gyrase - fluoroquinolone (ciprofloxacin)
• folic acid synthesis - sulphonamides, trimethoprim

Question 4

What is antimicrobial resistance?

Answer 4

Lack of effect of an antimicrobial in a patient against a previously susceptible bacterium.

Question 5

How is antimicrobial resistance measured quantitatively?

Answer 5

Preparing doubling dilutions of the antimicrobial in a broth which allows the growth of the bacterium you are testing and then inoculating each tube with the bacterium.
The tube which fails to show growth is referred to as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of that antibiotic for that individual bacterial strain.