Antibiotics Flashcards
What impact can inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing have on the patient?
(ADEs and unintended effects → v/d, changes to normal flora, more stuff that needs more research)
What impact has inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing already had on the global scale?
(There have already been emergences of resistant bacteria; pace of new antimicrobials is also slowing)
When should you prescribe antibiotics?
(When there is either a known or suspected bacterial infection)
What are some of the questions you should be asking yourself if you have decided to use antibiotics?
(What is the known or suspected tissue affected? What type of bacteria typically colonize there? What antimicrobials cover that bacteria in their spectrum? What type of antimicrobials reach the affected tissue? What are the potential adverse effects of that drug?)
What are some risk factors for microbial resistance?
(Recent antibiotic use (w/in 90ish days), hospital-acquired infections, long-standing infections, surgical implants, and the client works in a hospital)
(T/F) Shorter courses of antimicrobials should be utilized whenever possible.
(T, e.g. 3-5 days is likely sufficient for most UTIs in dogs)
(T/F) If you get culture and susceptibility results back on a patient you placed on empiric, broad spectrum antimicrobial therapy and that c/s identifies an appropriate narrow spectrum antibiotic, you optimally would switch them to that narrow spectrum antibiotic.
(T, obviously within reason because if an owner already paid money for a course of abx, don’t sacrifice your or your techs’ mental health to fight them on switching to another abx)
(T/F) If you get a culture back and it is negative, you should advise the owner to finish the course of prescribed antibiotics.
(F, stop the antibiotics)
(T/F) Antimicrobials would ideally be started after samples for culture and susceptibility are obtained.
(T)
