Chapter 14- Antimicrobial drugs Flashcards
How long have humans been using antimicrobial compounds for?
There’s evidence that humans have been exposed to antimicrobial compounds for millenia, not just in the last century. Skeletal remains from 350-550 revealed residue from tetracycline- this suggests that they were performing the fermentation of streptomyces. The resulting beer was used to treat illness, like gum disease and warts. Used fungi from moldy bread or other mold containing products to treat warts
Era of strategic drug discovery
The first half of the 20th century
Paul Ehrlich
Early 1900s- Paul Ehrlich and his assistant Sahachiro Hata found compound 606- killed Treponema pallidum- sold under the name of Salvarsan to treat syphilis
Alexander Fleming
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first natural antibiotic. Staphylococci had been contaminated by a mold which inhibited its growth
Klarer, Mietzsch, and Domagk
1930s- Klarer, Mietzsch, and Domagk discovered prontosil- killed streptococcal and staphylococcal infections
The active breakdown product of prontosil is sulfanilamide, which was the first synthetic antimicrobial created. It was the foundation for the development of the sulfa drug family
Dorothy Hodgkin
Early 1940s- Dorothy Hodgkin determined the structure of penicillin using X-rays. Scientists could then modify it to produce semisynthetic penicillins
Selman Waksman
1940s- Selman Waksman’s research team discovered several natural antimicrobials produced by soil microorganisms
Chemotherapeutic agent
A chemotherapeutic agent or drug is any chemical agent used in medical practice- the use of drugs to treat a disease. Can include the drugs used to treat cancer or antimicrobial drugs
Antibiotic agent
Considered to be a chemical substance made by a microorganism that can inhibit the growth or kill microorganisms
Antimicrobial agent
An antimicrobic or antimicrobial agent is a chemical substance similar to an antibiotic, but may be synthetic
Antibiotic vs antimicrobial
An antibiotic usually has one bacterial target, like if a key bacterial enzyme is blocked
Antimicrobial is a broad term but can often mean multiple targets, like membranes and DNA
Selective toxicity
Harms microbes but not damaging to the host. Microbes have different physiology than that of eukaryotic cells, like the bacterial cell wall. However. even with selective toxicity, some antibiotics have harmful side effects
Chemotherapeutic index
The maximum concentration of antibiotic that is tolerated per kilogram of that person in comparison to the minimum concentration of antibiotic per kilogram that will kill the disease. It is the ratio between the therapeutic dose and the toxic dose. The higher the chemotherapeutic index, the safer the drug
How are antimicrobial drugs classified?
Based on the type of organism they affect (antibacterial, antifungal)
Spectrum of activity
The range of microorganisms that an antimicrobial agent acts upon
Broad spectrum antimicrobial
Will treat a wide range of microorganisms (like gram positive and gram negative bacteria) if the exact agent isn’t known.
In which situations are broad spectrum antimicrobials used? (4)
- Used as an empiric therapy to cover a wide range of potential pathogens while the patient is waiting for laboratory identification of the pathogen
- Can be used for infections caused by more than one microorganism
- Also used as prophylaxis before surgery or other invasive procedures
- Used when a narrow spectrum antimicrobial was used first and failed to cure the disease
Isoniazid
Has a very narrow spectrum and only works against mycobacteria. Inhibits mycolic acid synthesis
Streptomycin
Has a wider spectrum and works against mycobacteria and gram negative bacteria
Tetracycline
Has a broad spectrum and works against mycobacteria, gram negative and gram positive bacteria, and chlamydias/rickettsias
Narrow spectrum
Targets only specific subsets of bacterial pathogens. For eukaryotic diseases, drugs have a narrow spectrum
Ketoconazole
only works against fungi
Mefloquine
works against protozoa (malaria)
Helminth drugs (2)
Niclosamide works against tapeworms and praziquantel works against flukes
Acyclovir
An antiviral that is a synthetic analog of the nucleoside guanosine. It is activated by the HSV enzyme thymidine kinase. When added to a growing DNA strand during replication, it causes chain termination, interfering with nucleic acid synthesis. Its specificity for virus-infected cells comes from both the need for a viral enzyme to activate it and the increased affinity of the activated form for viral DNA polymerase compared to host cell DNA polymerase. It is used to treat herpes infections like genital herpes, chickenpox, shingles, mono, and cytomegalovirus infections
Risks of using broad spectrum antibiotics
The risk of using broad spectrum antibiotics is that they will target a broad spectrum of their microbiota. Our normal microbiota keeps opportunistic pathogens in check. Broad spectrum antibiotics kill non resistant cells, but the opportunistic pathogen may be resistant to the antibiotic and can survive. Therefore, the drug resistant pathogens proliferate and can cause a superinfection (secondary infection). The opportunistic pathogen is now a majority in the microbiota
C. difficile
One example of an opportunistic pathogen. It overgrows as a result of treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics. It can cause colitis
Bacteriostatic
Chemical substance that inhibits the growth of organisms- doesn’t kill them. The viable and total cell counts grow exponentially, but then reach a plateau. In a healthy host, these drugs can effective to treat an infection because the immune system will take over
Bactericidal
Kills bacteria. Total cell count grows exponentially, then reaches a plateau. Viable cell counts grow exponentially, reach a peak, then decrease exponentially (V shaped graph)
Bacteriolytic
Cause the lysis of cells. Both total cell counts and viable cell counts grow exponentially, then decrease exponentially (both have a V shaped graph)
Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)
The MIC is defined as the lowest concentration of the drug that will prevent the growth of an organism. It is used to determine measure the in vitro effectiveness of an agent. MIC is useful to determine the effectiveness of a single drug against a single organism, and it will differ depending on the organisms involved.
How is MIC determined?
It is performed by using different concentrations of the antibiotic in a test tube with a bacteria. The MIC is determined by looking at the tube with the lowest concentration of the antibiotic that does not have growth of the bacteria (the solution remains clear)
If the .5 micrograms per milliliter tube contains growth but the 1.0 micrograms/milliliter tube does not, 1.0 micrograms per milliliter is the MIC
E test
A test strip that contains a gradient of an antibiotic that is placed in a lawn of bacteria (bacteria spread over an agar plate). The drug will diffuse out of the strip and travel farther and faster at high concentrations of the drug that at lower concentrations- it kills the surrounding bacteria and creates an upside down pear shape around the test strip
How is an E test used to determine the MIC?
Numbers reflect the relative concentrations of antibiotic present at various points within the zone of inhibition. The concentrations along the periphery of the clear zone are equal and reflect the MIC
Kirby-Bauer disk susceptibility test
Uses a variety of antibiotic disks on a lawn of bacteria an agar plate. You measure the zone of inhibition surrounding the antibiotic disk. Depending on the size of the zone, you can say that the organism is susceptible to that antibiotic. With bacteria that is resistant to an antibiotic, the zone of inhibition will be extremely small or will not even exist
Can the MIC test or Kirby-Bauer disk susceptibility test determine whether a drug is bacteriostatic or bactericidal?
No, neither test can distinguish whether a drug is bacteriostatic or bactericidal
Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)
Determined by using a tube dilution test and removing the antibiotic. If cells grow in the fresh medium without antibiotic, the drug is bacteriostatic, if cells do not grow, the drug is bactericidal
Attributes of an ideal antimicrobial (8)
- Solubility in body fluids
- Selective toxicity
- Toxicity not easily altered-don’t want the toxicity to change once ingested
- Non-allergenic
- Stability in the body once ingested
- Resistance by microorganisms not easily acquired
- Long shelf life
- Reasonable cost
Dosage
Amount of medication given during a certain time interval
How is dosage of medication determined in children vs adults?
In children, dosage is based upon the patient’s mass. In adults a standard dosage is used, independent of mass
How is an effective dose of a medication determined?
A dosage needs to be determined that allows for the optimum concentration of the drug at the site of infection that does not cause toxicity. Need to take into consideration the half life of the antibiotic
Half life
The rate at which 50% of a drug is eliminated from the plasma. It helps to determine how quickly the drug is removed from the body. Longer half life drugs are typically more convenient as they require less doses, but are more of a concern for toxicity.
Route of administration
The method used to introduce a drug into the body. An antibiotic that is ingested has to go through your gastrointestinal system, IV antibiotics directly enter the bloodstream, and some medications are intramuscular injections
Determining whether an antibiotic is clinically useful
The antibiotic concentration peaks in the serum at a specific time, but the concentration eventually starts to decrease. The second dose of the antibiotic needs to be taken before the serum concentration of the antibiotic dips below the MIC. An antibiotic may need to be taken at a specific time interval depending on this and the half life.
What do clinicians need to consider when prescribing an antibiotic? (3)
- Whether the organism is susceptible to the antibiotic
- Whether the attainable tissue level of the antibiotic is higher than the MIC
- The understanding of the relationship between the therapeutic dose and the toxic dose of the drug
Attainable tissue level of the antibiotic
The level that the antibiotic reaches in the infected tissue. If the antibiotic never reaches a high enough concentration in the infected tissue, it will not treat the infection. The concentration needs to be higher than the MIC
Therapeutic dose
The minimum dose per kilogram of body weight that stops the growth of the pathogen
Toxic dose
The maximum dose tolerated by the patient
How do routes of administration affect the concentration a drug reaches in the plasma?
IM and oral routes reach comparable peak concentrations in the plasma, but the IM drug reaches its peak slightly sooner. IV drugs peak much sooner (almost immediately) than IM and oral drugs. However, IM and oral drugs remain at a higher concentration for a longer period of time. The concentration of IV drugs decreases almost immediately after their peak
Synergistic drug combinations
Synergistic drugs may work poorly when they are given individually but very well when combined (combined effect is greater than additive effect). Example- aminoglycoside and vancomycin
Antagonistic drug interaction
The mechanisms of action of antagonistic drugs interfere with each other and diminish their effectiveness. There is also the risk of toxicity due to decreased metabolism and elimination. Example- penicillin and macrolides
Antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis (4)
- Beta lactams like penicillin, cephalosporins, monobactams, and carbapenems
- Polypeptide antibiotics
- Cycloserine
- Antimycobacterial antibiotics
Antibiotics that target the plasma membrane (2)
- Polymyxins like polymyxin B and colistin
- Lipopeptides like daptomycin