Antibiotics I: Principles of Antibiotic Therapy Flashcards
Who is Alexander Fleming?
▪ 1945 Nobel prize for discovery of penicillin (1st antiobiotic)
▪ Fleming isolate benzylpenicillin from Penicillium notatum (mold)
▪ Accidental discovery while studying staphylococcus aureus
▪ One culture was contaminated with fungus-noted that the staphylococcus around the fungus were destroyed
Why can’t Alexander Fleming’s experiment be repeated?
b/c penicillin can’t be used to treat S. aureus (resistant) ?
What is Selective Toxicity?
Drug will harm the invading organism without harming the host (human)
Takes advantage of differences between organisms (such as bacteria and fungi) and humans
What are the factors in selecting an antibiotic?
- Bacteria
- Host
- Drug
want to have the middle overlap of these
- drug effective against bacteria but also helps the host
How do we know what is the bacteria?
▪ Ideally we would know but sometimes it is an educated guess at what the most likely pathogen(s) is/are.
- ex: more resistant bacteria in hospital typ. so need to bring in big gun antibiotics
▪ Samples are sent to the microbiology lab for culture and sensitivity (C&S)
What are the samples we can take to determine what the bacteria is?
▪ Samples are sent to the microbiology lab for culture and sensitivity (C&S)
▪ Blood (2 sites) - b/c 1 might contaminated as it goes through skin
▪ Urine
▪ Wound swabs
▪ CSF (through a tap)
▪ Tissue (ex: neucrotic bone infraction)
▪ sputum
help us choice which antiobiotic to use
What are the factors in selecting bacteria?
- Gram +
- Gram -
- Anaerobic
Gram + features
- Outer peptidoglycan cell wall surrounding the cell membrane (phospholipid bilayer)
aerobic
Gram - features
- In addition to cell membrane and peptidoglycan layer there is an outer cell membrane. Outer layer contains Lipid A (bacterial endotoxin)
aerobic
Anaerobic features
- Gram positive or gram negative
- obligate anaerobes are harmed by the presence of oxygen
- Facultative anaerobes can survive in both aerobic and anaerobic environments
Which Anaerobes are harder to kill?
Facultative anaerobes b/c can survive in both aerobic & anaerobic environments
Pathogenic:
▪ Bacteria that can cause disease
▪ Some bacteria only cause disease in certain hosts
Colonizer:
▪ Most bacteria are HARMLESS to humans
▪ Colonizers are present but do not cause disease
▪ Sometime due to host factors bacteria that are normally just colonizers can be pathogenic
Can a Colonizer become pathogenic? If so, when?
yes!
in immunocompromised people (ex: RA patient)
What are the host factors in selecting an antibiotic?
- Immune system – immunocompromised?
- colonizers may be pathogenic
- & also their body can’t do some of the work to clear it
- Renal function–clearance, drug interactions,
toxicity - Hepatic function–metabolism, drug interactions
- Perfusion – can we get the drug to the site of action
- some people have poor perfusion
- is inf. in a pocket or tucked away area
- Allergy
- Age
- Pregnancy/lactation
- will it harm unborn fetus
- or is it in breast milk
What are the drug factors in selecting an antibiotic?
▪ Is the drug active against the bacteria?
- sometimes can get there but isn’t active there
ex: diplomycin? - can’t use for pneumonia b/c inactivated by lungs
▪ Will the drug get to the site of action?
▪ Is the drug active at the site of infection?
▪ Bactericidal vs bacteriostatic
▪ Time dependent vs concentration dependent
▪ Safety/Toxicity
- some drugs aren’t as selective
▪ Route of administration
- can it be PO or should we do IV if v. bad inf
▪ Cost
What is the Spectrum of Activity?
▪ Helpful to understand basic spectrums of activity (which bugs are covered by which drugs - gram +/- or anerobic) ie. Vancomycin has good gram positive activity but no gram negative or anaerobic activity (narrow spectrum b/c good against gr +)
▪ Narrow vs Broad Spectrum
▪ Learn the exceptions to the rule
*▪ Learn which antibiotics cover which bug.
▪ Which antibiotics cover pseudomonas aeruginosa?
▪ Which antiobiotics cover methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
What is the Local Antibiograms?
tells about susceptibility of a bacteria to an antibiotic