Antibiotics Flashcards
What 3 ways can antibiotics be administereed?
guided therapy, empirical therapy and prophylacttic therapy
When would guided therapy be used?
mild infections that can wait a few days to be treated
When would empirical therapy be used?
severe infections (sepsis) where delay would be harmful
needs to cover all likely causes
When would prophylcatic therapy be used?
healthy people exposed to surgery/injury
immunocompromised individuals (HIV+/transplant recipients)
What are the target effects of antibiotics?
toxic to bacteria causing infection, penetrates infected body area, limits toxins released by bacteria, convenient administration
What co-lateral damage should come from antibiotics?
non-toxic to patient, limited effect on colonising bacteria (c. diff), low potential for bacterial resistance
What are the differences between bactericidal and bacteriostatic action?
bactericidal - kills bacteria, sterile
bacteriostatic - prevents bacterial growth (may inhibit growth proteins), non-sterile
What is a downside of using bactericidal antibiotics?
bacteria lysis can release toxins and inflammatory material
What is a downside of using bacteriostatic antibiotics?
requires additional factors to clear bacteria
What different systems can antibiotics target?
cell wall peptidoglycan, metabolism, DNA, ribosome
What are the benefits of penicillins?
rapid bacterial killing, low toxicity
How do penicillins kill bacteria?
Targets cell wall peptidoglycan, causes cell death
Name a positive and a negative of vancomycin
positive - useful for penicillin resistant bacteria (MRSA)
negative - cant penetrate gram -ve cell wall
what re the benefits of using doxycyline or clarithromycin?
concentrated in cells and useful against intra-celllar pathogens
targets ribosomes so useful in both gram +ve and -ve organisms
discuss the positives and negative action of ciprofloxacin
broad action spectrum, DNA damage caused leads to bacterial cell death
widespread resistance
