Antimicrobials

Question 1

What is antibiotic resistance?

Answer 1

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these medicines. Bacteria, not humans or animals, become antibiotic-resistant. These bacteria may infect humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria.

Question 2

what is the rationale for antibiotic prescription?

Answer 2

Antibiotic prescriptions must be handled with care

• Medical staff will prescribe the most effective, least toxic and narrowest spectrum agent
  available for known pathogens, on the proviso that known patient allergies and other
  idiosyncrasies are also taken into account.

Question 3

What is the patient educations essential for antibiotic prescriptions?

Answer 3

• Only take the antibiotics as prescribed and only take antibiotics that have been specifically prescribed for you
• Do not take them for a cold or flu
• Do not keen antibiotics from a previous treatment

Question 4

Define the term antibacterial.

Question 5

What are antibiotics?

Answer 5

Chemicals used to kill or suppress growth of micro-organisms causing infections

Question 6

What is a broad spectrum antibiotic?

Answer 6

Where the antibiotic is active against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

Question 7

What is a narrow spectrum antibiotic?

Answer 7

Where the antibiotic is active against a select group of bacteria

Question 8

What is empiric therapy?

Answer 8

Treatment of an infection before specific culture information has been reported or obtained

Question 9

What is prophylactic therapy?

Answer 9

Treatment with antibiotics to prevent an infection.