Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Flashcards
Antibiotic
a substance produced by a microorganism that kills or inhibits other microorganisms
Antimicrobial agent
a substance that kills or inhibits a microorganism (can be natural like an antibiotic or synthetic)
Antibacterial agent
an antimicrobial that affects bacteria
Bactericidal
agents that kill bacteria
Bacteriostatic
agents that inhibit bacteria
Spectrum of activity
the range of organisms that are adversely affected by an antimicrobial agent
Plasmid
extrachromosomal DNA that can replicate and may carry resistance genes that can be transferred among organisms
Additive drug interaction
the antimicrobial agent effect is the sum of the activity of the individual antimicrobial agents (drugs work together but the effect is not amplified)
Synergy drug interaction
the effect of the antimicrobial agents is greater than the sum (amplified)
Antagonism drug interaction
one antimicrobial agent interferes with the activity of another (two drugs are less effective than one)
Indifferent drug interaction
the antimicrobial agents are independent of one another
Intrinsic resistance
inherent/it is a characteristic of a species, genus, or group
Ex: GNRs being resistant to vancomycin because it cannot cross the outer membrane
Acquire resistance
a change in a bacterial strain’s susceptibility from gene mutation and transfer of resistance genes
Enzyme inactivation resistance mechanism
produce enzymes that inactivate antimicrobial agents
Ex: penicillinase
Permeability barriers
unable to reach their intended target sites
Drug efflux
use an energy-dependent system to pump an antimicrobial agent out of the bacterial cell
Low-affinity target sites
the drug binds poorly or not at all to its target site
Bypass mechanisms
able to circumvent the metabolic block caused by an antimicrobial agent
Constitutive resistance expression
the microorganism is constantly expressing the resistance mechanism
Inducible resistance expression
the microorganism expresses the resistance mechanism only when exposed to the appropriate antimicrobial agent
Constitutive-inducible resistance expression
constantly expresses resistance at a low level and a high level when the antimicrobial agent is present
B-lactam agents
inhibit cell wall synthesis by binding to enzymes involved in peptidoglycan production (penicillin-binding proteins); bactericidal
Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs)
enzymes involved in the formation of peptidoglycan cross-links
Acyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine
the normal substrate required for synthesis of the linear glycopeptide in the bacterial cell wall; the ring for beta-lactams are similar to this ring
B-lactamases
enzymes that inactivate B-lactam agents by cleaving the B-lactam ring
Includes: penicillinases and cephalosporinases
Which antimicrobial agents are B-lactams?
Penicillins, cephems, carbapenems, and monobactams
Which staphylococci are resistant to B-lactams
Methicillin-resistant staphylococci are resistant to all B-lactam agents
What are the key steps for antimicrobial action?
- The agent must be in an active form
- It must be able to achieve sufficient levels at the site of infection
- It must be able to inhibit growth or kill the bacteria