HUBS LT 9 Flashcards
antimicrobials
substances that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
prophylaxis
taking medication to prevent a disease not to treat it after you get sick
bactericidal
means simply to kill bacteria. Some antibiotics work by killing bacteria
bacteriostatic
stops bacteria from growing and reducing, they can allow our immune systems a chance to kill the bacteria.
broad spectrum
can act on many, many different bacteria.
narrow spectrum
only acts on a small range of bacteria. However, narrow spectrum antibiotics are extremely effective against the group of bacteria that they work on.
What is in step 1 of treating emergency bacterial infections?
The first step is to run some tests, such as the blood cultures and sensitivities and full blood count. The nurse will collect 2 bottles of blood, one for bacteria that need oxygen and one that doesn’t. The nurse will start an IV antibiotic and will also check for allergies.
What is in step 2 of treating emergency bacterial infections?
The lab checks the blood cultures everyday for 5 days. Sensitivity tests are done. And doctors will rely on detailed updates from the nurse- things like viral signs, signs of infection or sepsis.
What is in step 3 of treating emergency bacterial infections?
More tests are run that will determine exactly what species of bacteria is causing the infection. The doctor may switch to a narrow spectrum antibiotic or they will wait until the sensitivities result.
What is in step 4 of treating emergency bacterial infections?
A sensitivity test is done where small amounts of different antibiotics are placed around bacteria on a special jelly plate. When the doctor gets the sensitivity results, they can pick the best antibiotic.
mechanisms of beta-lactam:
beta-lactam kills bacteria by stopping bacteria from building strong cell walls, causing them to swell and burst due to water
mechanism of vancomycin:
It only works on Gram-Positive bacteria, it stops bacteria from building their cell wall very early in the process, before the wall is fully formed. Because it works so early, bacteria that produces beta-lactamase can’t stop vancomycin from working.
mechanisms of texiobactin:
a new type of antibiotic made by a soil bacteria. It works by sticking to special fat molecules that bacteria use to build their cell wall. By blocking these, teixobactin stops the bacteria from making a strong wall, which weakens and kills them
nursing care for administration of beta-lactam
as nurses it’s very important to carefully check and correctly label any allergies. Nurses should always check with the doctor or pharamists with medications with many kinds. Nurses don’t need to know every drug interaction, but they do need to know the cross reactivity is possible and double check before giving related medications.
nursing care for administration of vancomycin:
to make vancomycin stay at the right level in the blood, nurses check the ‘peak’ and ‘trough’ levels by drawing blood at specific times.
how antibiotic resistance occurs
when bacteria multiply, they copy their DNA. sometimes, mutations happen in that process. These mutations can change how the bacteria responds to bacteria. when a antibiotic is given, it kills most of the bacteria. But a few many survive as they have mutations that protect them.
How is nursing care given to prevent and treat antibiotic resistance?
-combination medications
-getting the right amount of antibiotics
-picking the right antibiotic
how is combination medications a way nurses can provide care to prevent and treat antibiotic resistance?
be aware of combination drugs and educate patients on why they’re important they’re just ‘stronger’ they’re smarter.
how is getting the right amount of antibiotics a way nurses can provide care to prevent and treat antibiotic resistance?
make sure people complete the course of their antibiotics. we want to make sure they kill off every pathogenic bacteria they can so that there are less to come back and mutate and become resistant.
how antiviral medications limit viral disease
- blocks entry-they stop the virus from attaching to our cells.
- stopping uncoating - they prevent the virus from releasing DNA or RNA into our cells.
- Preventing DNA conversion- some viruses need to turn their RNA into DNA -certain antivirals stop this.
- Blocking DNA insertion- once the virus has its DNA, it tries to insert it into our DNA. some antivirals stop it from doing that
Antivirals should be prescribed when:
- the virus is caught early, usually iwthin 48 hours of exposure or symptoms
-the infection is serious or has a high viral load like covid or influenza
-the infection is chronic, such as HIV or Hepatitis C
Antivirals should not be prescribed when:
-the virus has already been in the body for a while and symptoms started more than 48 hours ago, by then antivirals are usually less effective.
-The illness is mild, like a common cold, where the immune system can handle it without medication.
