Antibitotics Cell wall

Question 1

What antibiotic can you not take statins with?

Answer 1

Macrolide

Question 2

Antibiotics can be divided into 3 major groupings based on their mechanism of action, what are they ?

Answer 2

-Inhibiting the bacterial cell wall
-Inhibiting DNA
-Inhibiting protein synthesis.

Question 3

What are the groups of antibiotics that act on the cell wall ?

Answer 3

The B-lactam antibiotics including penicillin and cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams

A second group includes vancomycin reserved for more severe/resistant infections

The third group, including bacitracin and polymyxin, are mainly used for external infections of the skin/eye/ear.

A fourth group considers antibiotics used to treat the mycobacteria responsible for tuberculosis, where the structure of the cell wall shows major differences to other commonly infectious bacteria

Question 4

What are the B-Lactam antibitotics ?

Answer 4

penicillin and cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams

Question 5

What is the mechanism of action for B-lactam antibitotics ?

Answer 5

• Largest group of antibiotics
• All contain the B-lactam ring

Mechanism of Action: Enzyme Inhibitor

• Bind covalently to a serine residue at the active site of the enzyme
  -Inhibit transpeptidases (cross-linking enzymes)
  -Irreversible enzyme inhibitors

Question 6

What is the broad spectrum B-lactam antibiotic?

Answer 6

Amoxicillin

Question 7

What is amoxicillin used for ?

Answer 7

Amoxicillin is currently the most commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat pneumonia, urinary tract infection, hospital-acquired infection and duodenal ulcer. However, an additional issue to consider is that oral antibiotics may have the ability to inhibit important GI bacteria resulting in diarrhoea and nausea with the possibility of allowing the overgrowth of C. Difficile which can generate colitis, inflammation of the bowel.