Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Pharm 152 > Infectious Diseases > Flashcards

Infectious Diseases Flashcards

1
Q

What does the host defense of the immune system contain?

A
  • it involves both the innate and adaptive parts of the immune system
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Do antibiotics always completely cure the infection?

A

No

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What other measures may be required if the antibiotics cannot fully rid the pathogen?

A
  • drainage of an abscess
  • removal of dead tissue because there’s no blood supply
  • removal of foreign bodies or a prosthetic infection
  • decrease immune suppression (by increasing the immune response
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What kinds of human factors can alter the ability of the host defense?

A
  • malnutrition
  • extremes of age
  • immune globulin deficiencies
  • deficiencies in cellular immunity
  • alcoholism
  • diabetes
  • immunosuppressive therapy
  • invasive procedures
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are non-specific symptoms of infection?

A
  • malaise
  • listlessness (no energy)
  • loss of appetite
  • headache
  • myalgias
  • arthralgias
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the main terms to describe infection?

A
  • pus
  • fever
  • pain
  • redness
  • swelling
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are the defining temperatures of fever

A
  • greater than 37.2 at 6am
  • greater than 37.7 at 4pm
  • greater than 38.2 rectally
  • greater than 37.2 armpit
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What happens to white blood cells in response to infection

A
  • levels increase from 5-10 x 10^9/L to anything above 10 x 10^9/L
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

In what situations can white blood cell levels remain fairly normal in infection?

A
  • in less severe infections
  • in the elderly
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are the relative roles and proportions of white blood cell subtypes?

A
  • Total neutrophils: infection fighting wbc’s (50-70%)
  • Segmented neutrophils: mature neutrophils that circulate in the blood stream (50-70%)
  • Bands: immature neutrophils, stored in bone marrow, injected during infection even though immature (3-5%)
  • Lymphocytes: make antibodies (20-40%)
  • Monocytes: exist in tissues, precursor to macrophages (0-7%)
  • Eosinophils: associated with parasitic infections and allergic type responses (0-5%)
  • Basophils: allergic type response (0-1%)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are the two groups and characterists of neutrophils

A
  1. Segmented neutrophil: nucleus is segmented, neutrophil is mature
  2. Band: nucleus is smooth and parallel, neutrophil is immature
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What do anemia, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and increased C-reactive protein indicate during infection?

A

They are markers of inflammation and can be used as a monitoring tool in certain infections like endocarditis or osteomyelitis because the infection is deep inside and can’t easily be viewed without labs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What symptoms occur when a patient goes into septic shock?

A
  • decreased BP, then decreased CO, which reduces perfusion of brain, kidney, liver, and lungs
  • decrease in renal function
  • hepatic dysfunction (decrease in bilirubin
  • decreased oxygenation
  • disseminated intravascular coagulation
    Lastly: Multiple organ failure = Death
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the first step of diagnosing an infection and what does it entail?

A

History:
- determining signs, symptoms, severity
- source if infection
- attempting to determine which organism is the most likely cause

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the second step of infection diagnosis and what does it entail?

A

Physical Examination:
- localizing the infection by examining specific local symptoms
- e.g. measles has a characteristic rash, meningitis involves neck stiffness, and pneumonia presents with cough and sputum production

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is the third step of infection diagnosis?

A

Labratory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What kinds of abnormalities do we look for in lab tests with regard to infectious diseases?

A
  • white blood cell counts and the specific percentages of each subtype
  • erythrocyte sedimentation rate and c-reactive protein
  • Renal and hepatic function
  • electrolytes – not as a cause of infection but to help fix an electrolyte imbalance that may have occurred
  • microbiology – the specific pathogen
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is the goal of microbiology lab tests and what specific tests can be used?

A

Goal is to determine invading pathogens so a proper antibiotic can be used
- use gram stains, culture, and sensitivity testing

19
Q

What kind of information can we gain from a gram stain

A
  • an idea of what kind of organism we’re dealing with
  • determine if gram + or -
  • determine if organism is cocci or bacillus
  • can identify presence of white blood cells because they also stain
  • if there are no white blood cells we may consider that the organism may not even be a bacteria
20
Q

List some gram positive cocci bacteria

A
  • Staphylococcus
  • Pneumococci
  • Streptococcus
21
Q

List some gram positive bacilli bacteria

A
  • Listeria
  • Cutibacterium
  • Corynebacterium
  • Gardnerella
  • Clostridium
  • Bacillus/lactobacillus
  • Nocardia
  • Actinomyces
22
Q

List some gram negative cocci

A
  • Neisseria
  • Veillonella
23
Q

List some gram negative bacilli bacteria

A
  • Aeromonas
  • Pasteurella
  • Vibrio
  • E. coli
  • Enterobacter
  • Pseudomonas
  • Haemophilus influenzae
  • Flavobacterium
  • Salmonella
  • Moraxella
  • Acinetobacter
24
Q

How is a culture test done and what can we determine from it?

A

Done by growing the organism and determine it’s biochemical profile

25
Q

When can a sensitivity test be completed and what does it entail?

A
  • can be completed after we identified the specific organism
  • is used to determine which antibiotics the organism is resistant or susceptible to
  • organism sensitivity is determined based on the lowest antibiotic concentration that will prevent growth
26
Q

What is the downside of antibody testing

A

it won’t tell you when the infection occurred, antibodies could be present from an infection many months ago

27
Q

Briefly outline the process of treatment for an infection

A
  1. establish signs, symptoms, history, and site of infection
  2. Either make an educated guess based on most common pathogens or perform lab tests
  3. consider patient and drug factors
  4. make an empirical antibiotic choice
28
Q

What are 3 reasons we use antibiotics

A
  1. Prophylaxis – attempt to prevent infection, but generally leads to resistance
  2. Empiric Therapy – single dose given before a surgery
  3. Specific Therapy – develop an infection, treat it with indicated antibiotic
29
Q

is it always necessary to give an antibiotic before the specific pathogen is determined?

A

No, in some cases it may be helpful to wait and see if other symptoms develop or go away, and wait for lab tests to come back
Giving antibiotics before we know the specific pathogen could be a driver of resistance or increase the chance of unnecessary side effects

30
Q

Do doctors usually request follow up appointments after prescribing antibiotic therapy?

A

No, this will just back up the health care system. Follow-ups only needed if the therapy isn’t working

31
Q

When we do prescribe antibiotics before knowing the actual organism, what factors do we take into account?

A
  • Regional data of common infections, resistant organisms
  • whether the infection was hospital or community acquired
  • look at an antibiogram
  • age of patient
  • immunosuppression
32
Q

What goes into choosing which drug is best?

A
  • considering patient allergies and if the allergies are real
  • CNS penetration
  • location of infection
  • side effects
  • if we need a bactericidal or bacteriostatic drug
  • cost and insurance
  • dosage form and administration frequency/route
  • narrow vs. broad spectrum
33
Q

In what scenarios do we use combination therapy?

A
  • if multiple organisms like both a gram pos and neg are present
  • to either limit or overcome resistance
  • to promote synergism
34
Q

What are the disadvantages or warnings of using multiple antibiotics?

A
  • increased risk of toxicities –> 2 sets of side effects to deal with
  • increased risk of colonization with resistant organisms
  • higher costs
  • false sense of security
35
Q

What drugs are safe during pregnancy?

A

penicillins, cephalosporins, erythromycin base

36
Q

What drugs should we be cautious to give during pregnancy?

A

vancomycin, clindamycin, trimethoprim, nitrofurantoin

37
Q

What drugs do we avoid during pregnancy?

A

tetracycline, fluoroquinolones, TMP-SMX, erythromycin estolate, sulfonamides (in the last trim)

38
Q

How do we approach antibiotic therapy for a patient with renal or hepatic dysfunction?

A
  • metabolism and excretion will be altered either making the drug’s effects last longer or shorter
  • from this we must either change the dose or the whole antibiotic
39
Q

How do we treat immunosuppressed patients different from others?

A

We may need bactericidal antibiotics in a situation where bacteriostatic antibiotics would have been used because the body will have no ability to fight the pathogen on it’s own

40
Q

In what circumstances do we use parenteral medications as opposed to oral?

A

When the infection is severe:
Injecting medications makes it easier to maintain adequate blood levels and possibly treat the infection faster
This is more common in the hospital setting, parenteral rarely used in outpatient therapy

41
Q

How do we decide the right dose and duration of therapy?

A
  • dose and duration can sometimes be specific to the individual
  • durations that are too long are huge drivers of resistance
  • durations that are too short risk the infection not being fully cured, or coming back fast
42
Q

What is the first thing we ask a patient when they bring in an antibiotic prescription?

A

What kind of infection are you treating

43
Q

What do we need to confirm after determining what the antibiotic is for?

A
  • is the antibiotic indicated for the specific infection?
  • is an antibiotic even needed for this specific situation?
  • Are the dose and duration correct?
  • does the drug represent awareness to patient factors
    if any of these answers are no, must contact the doctor before making any changes
44
Q

List some reasons for antibiotic failure.

A
  • noncompliance
  • underdosing
  • inaccessible site
  • prosthetic material
  • resistance
  • superinfection – ex. yeast infection develops after a course of antibiotics

Pharm 152 (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions