Antimicrobial chemotherapy Flashcards
Define ‘bactericidal’
antimicrobial that kills bacteria (eg penicillins)
Define bacteriostatic
antimicrobial that inhibits growth of bacteria (eg. erythromycin)
Define a ‘sensitive’ organism
Organism that is inhibited or killed by levels of antimicrobial at site of infection
Define a ‘resistant’
An organism is considered resistant if it is not killed or inhibited by levels of the antimicrobial that are available at the site of infection
Define ‘MIC’
Minimal inhibitory concentration - The minimum conc. of an antimicrobial needed to inhibit visible growth of a given organism
Define ‘MBC’
Minimal bactericidal conc. - The minimum conc. of the antimicrobial needed to kill a given organism
What are the 3 routes of administration
Systemic - taken internally, orally or parenterally
Topical - Applied to surface, skin or mucous membranes e.g. conjunctiva
Parenteral - intra-venously (iv), intra-muscularly (im), subcutaneously
What are the 3 mechanisms of action of antimicrobial agents
Inhibition of:
cell wall synthesis
protein synthesis
nucleic acid synthesis
What two types of drugs are β-lactams
Penicillins and cephalosporins
β-lactam antibiotics disrupt peptidoglycan synthesis by inhibiting enzymes responsible for cross-linking carbohydrate chains
(Peptidoglycan is important structural component of bacterial cell wall and enzymes involved in its synthesis)
What are the two types of antimicrobials which inhibit cell wall synthesis
Glycopeptides and β-lactams
What are two common glycopeptides
Vancomycin and teicoplanin
Describe the mechanism and range of action of glycopeptides
Inhibit cell wall synthesis - at a prior stage than B-lactams
only act on gram positive organisms
What route of administration must glycopeptides take (unless special circumstances)
Parenterally
What is one side effect of vancomycin
Toxic
What are the 4 types of antimicrobial which inhibit protein syntehsis
- Aminoglycosides
- Macrolides and tetracyclines
- Oxazolidinones
- Cyclic lipopeptides
What type of bacteria are aminoglycosides useful for?
Serious gram negative Infection
What type of drug is getamicin and what is a common side effect of adminsitration
Aminoglycoside, toxic - requires careful dosing regime and motoring of levels
What are the uses of macrolides and tatracyclines
Treatment of gram positive infections in patients with penicillin allergy
Cannot be used without lab testing
What class of drug is linezolid and what is it commonly used for?
Oxazolidonones (protein synthesis inhibitor)
Good activity against MRSA
Typically in reserve for treatment of serious infection
What class of drug is daptomycin and what it is commonly used for?
Cylic lipopeptide (protein synthesis inhibitor)
Activity against gram positives in general and MRSA in particular
What are the 2 classes of drug which inhibit nucleic acid synthesis
- Trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole
- Fluoroquinolone’s
What type of drug is ciprofloxacin?
What it is commonly used for?
What are some drawbacks?
Fluoroquinolone (nucleic acid inhibitor)
Against gram negative organisms
Can be taken orally
Not used in children
Describe inherent/intrinsic resistance
Some cases all strains of a species are naturally resistant to antibiotic
Inability of drug to penetrate bacterial cell wall to exert its action
What is the first way in which acquired resistance can be acquired in bacteria
- Spontaneous mutation during multiplication of bacterial DNA can result in change in structure or function which no longer allows antibiotic to act, target may have changed
What is the second way in which acquired resistance may be acquired?
- resistance genes can spread from organism to organism or species to species
Most common mode by plasmids (extra chromosomal packages for DNA) or on transposons (packets of DNA which insert themselves into chromosome)