Chapter 8: Anti-Infective Agents

Question 1

bactericidal

Answer 1

substance that causes the death of bacteria, usually by interfering with cell membrane stability or with proteins or enzymes necessary to maintain the cellular integrity of the bacteria

Question 2

bacteriostatic

Answer 2

substance that prevents or slows the replication of bacteria, usually by interfering with proteins or enzyme systems necessary for reproduction of the bacteria

Question 3

culture

Answer 3

sample of the bacteria (e.g., from sputum, cell scrapings, urine) to be grown in a laboratory to determine the species of bacteria causing a particular infection

Question 4

prophylaxis

Answer 4

treatment to prevent an infection before it occurs or to prevent a second infection, as in the use of antibiotics to prevent bacterial endocarditis in high-risk patients or antiprotozoals to prevent malaria

Question 5

resistance

Answer 5

ability of pathogens over time to adapt to an anti-infective to produce cells that are no longer affected by a particular drug

Question 6

selective toxicity

Answer 6

the ability to affect certain proteins or enzyme systems that are used by the infecting organism but not by human cells

Question 7

sensitivity testing

Answer 7

evaluation of pathogens obtained in a culture to determine which anti-infectives will be effective against the organisms causing a particular infection

Question 8

spectrum

Answer 8

range of bacteria against which an antibiotic is effective (e.g., broad-spectrum antibiotics are effective against a wide range of bacteria; narrow-spectrum antibiotics are effective only against very selective bacteria)

Question 9

superinfection

Answer 9

infections that occur when opportunistic pathogens have the opportunity to invade tissues and cause infections because the normal flora bacteria that kept them in check have been destroyed by antibiotic therapy