Antibiotics Practice Questions Flashcards
A 56-year-old woman presents with fever, cough, and shortness of breath upon admission. Her chest X-ray shows bilateral infiltrates consistent with pneumonia. Respiratory cultures are pending, and she is initiated on a combination of ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Which of the following best describes the use of ceftriaxone and azithromycin in this case?
A. Concentration-dependent killing therapy
B. Definitive therapy
C. Empiric therapy
D. Prophylactic therapy
C. empiric therapy
When evaluating drug therapy for meningitis, which of the following factors is expected to have the LEAST influence on the penetration and concentration of an antibacterial agent in the cerebrospinal fluid?
A. Lipid solubility of the drug
B. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the drug
C. Protein binding of the drug
D. Molecular weight of the drug
B. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the drug
Which of the following antimicrobials should be closely monitored in a patient with kidney dysfunction due to the risk of drug accumulation and toxicity?
A. Doxycycline
B. Amikacin
C. Rifampin
D. Tetracycline
B. Amikacin
A 24-year-old patient who is in the third trimester of pregnancy presents with urinary frequency, urgency, and fever. She is diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Which of the following antibiotics is most appropriate to treat the infection in this patient?
A. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
B. Doxycycline
C. Amoxicillin
D. Gentamicin
C. Amoxicillin
Which of the following antimicrobials exhibits a long postantibiotic effect that permits once-daily dosing?
A. Gentamicin
B. Penicillin G
C. Vancomycin
D. Aztreonam
A. Gentamicin
A patient is infected by a gram-negative organism that is resistant to carbapenems, likely due to altered porin channels. This is an example of what mechanism of drug resistance?
A. Altered targets
B. Decreased accumulation
C. Lipopolysaccharide modification
D. Enzymatic inactivation
B. Decreased accumulation
A 39-year-old patient is scheduled to have a total knee replacement. Which of these antimicrobial agents is most appropriate for surgical prophylaxis to cover microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes?
A. Levofloxacin
B. Isoniazid
C. Vancomycin
D. Cefepime
C. Vancomycin
Which of the following adverse drug reactions precludes a patient from being rechallenged with that drug in the future?
A. Itching/rash from penicillin
B. Stevens–Johnson syndrome from sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim
C. Gastrointestinal (GI) upset from clarithromycin
D. Clostridioides difficile superinfection from moxifloxacin
B. Stevens–Johnson syndrome from sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim
During a medication history, a patient mentions that he had a reaction from a drug years ago when he was being treated for a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. He remembers that the reaction occurred because the medicine was infused too quickly. Which of the following medications most likely caused this reaction?
A. Ampicillin
B. Chloramphenicol
C. Erythromycin
D. Vancomycin
D. Vancomycin
Which of the following classes of antimicrobials has a mechanism of action to inhibit cell wall synthesis?
A. Aminoglycosides
B. β-Lactams
C. Macrolides
D. Tetracyclines
B. β-Lactams
A 23-year-old man presents with acute appendicitis that ruptures shortly after admission. He is taken to the operating room for surgery, and postsurgical cultures reveal Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis, susceptibilities pending. Which of the following provides adequate empiric coverage of these two pathogens?
A. Cefepime
B. Piperacillin/tazobactam
C. Aztreonam
D. Ceftaroline
B. Piperacillin/tazobactam
A 68-year-old man presents from a nursing home with fever, increased urinary frequency and urgency, and mental status changes. He has a penicillin allergy of anaphylaxis. Which of the following β-lactams is the most appropriate choice for gram-negative coverage of this patient’s urinary tract infection?
A. Cefepime
B. Ertapenem
C. Aztreonam
D. Ceftaroline
C. Aztreonam
A 25-year-old man presents to the urgent care center with a painless sore on his genitals that started 2 weeks ago. He reports unprotected sex with a new partner about a month ago. A blood test confirms the patient has Treponema pallidum. Which of the following is the drug of choice for the treatment of this patient’s infection as a single dose?
A. Benzathine penicillin G
B. Ceftriaxone
C. Aztreonam
D. Vancomycin
A. Benzathine penicillin G
Which of the following cephalosporins has activity against gram-negative anaerobic pathogens like Bacteroides fragilis?
A. Cefoxitin
B. Cefepime
C. Ceftriaxone
D. Cefazolin
A. Cefoxitin (2nd Gen)
In which of the following cases would it be appropriate to use telavancin?
A. A 29-year-old pregnant woman with ventilator-associated pneumonia
B. A 76-year-old man with hospital-acquired pneumonia also receiving amiodarone for atrial fibrillation
C. A 36-year-old man with cellulitis and abscess growing MRSA
D. A 72-year-old woman with a diabetic foot infection growing MRSA who has moderate renal dysfunction
C. A 36-year-old man with cellulitis and abscess growing MRSA