Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy Flashcards
What is the simplest and most common way to identify a pathogen?
gram stain
Why does bacteria stain differently? Gram positive will stain what color? Gram negative will stain what color?
structural components of the cell wall
+ : purple
- : pink/red
Describe acid-fast staining.
mycobacterium class, presumptive results, requires confirmation with cultures
stains every cell, non-acid fast bacteria become de-stained, counter stain applied (non-acid fast become blue, acid-fast become pink/red)
Describe India ink staining.
KOH, identifies fungi, cannot identify organism involved (need body fluids)
Describe ELISA.
used to identify antigens + antibodies and proteins + glycoproteins
Describe latex agglutination.
identification of antibodies of blood groups, can be used to respond to patient’s refractory to treatment
Name some drug factors that narrow antimicrobial agent choice.
availability, dosage form, cost
Name some host factors that narrow antimicrobial agent choice.
allergies, organ function, infection site, concomitant disease/therapies
What type of information on susceptibility is gathered using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion?
qualitative
diameter of disk determines if bacteria is susceptible to resistant to antibiotic
Describe the E-test (MIC).
helps determine concentration of drug needed, minimal concentration of antibiotic needed to inhibit growth
Describe serial dilution of antimicrobial drugs.
multiple test tubes each containing a higher concentration of antibiotic, determines minimal bactericidal concentration or minimal inhibitory concentration
Describe drug resistance.
adaptive response in which microbes begin to tolerate an amount of drug that would ordinarily by inhibitory or harmful, due to genetic versatility, more virulent, can be intrinsic or acquired
Define intrinsic drug resistance.
bacteria must be resistant to any antibiotic that they produce
Define acquired drug resistance.
The adaptive response by a microbe that was previously sensitive to a drug
List some mechanisms of bacterial resistance.
enzymes that degrade antibiotics, alteration of bacterial cell walls/membranes
How is antimicrobial therapy achieved without harming the host cell?
disrupting the cellular processes or structures of bacteria, fungi, protozoa or to inhibit the virus multiplication cycle
List some characteristics of the ideal drug.
maintain potency, compliments host defences, does not negatively affect the host’s health, reasonably priced/readily available, can be quickly delivered to site of infection, remains active in tissue and body fluids, and does not contribute to microbial resistance
Define antimicrobials.
all-inclusive term for any antimicrobial drug, regardless of its origin
Define prophylaxis.
use of a drug to prevent the potential for infection of a person at risk
Define chemotherapeutic drug.
any chemical used in the treatment, relief, or prophylaxis of a disease
Define antimicrobial chemotherapy.
use of chemotherapeutic drugs to control infection (will have effect on actual organism)
Define synergism.
coordinated/correlated action by 2 microbes that results in a heightened response or greater activity
Define microbial antagonism.
microbes compete for survival in a common environment by taking actions that inhibit or destroy another organism
Antimicrobials can be divided into 3 different groups, what are they?
natural antibiotics, synthetic drugs, and semi-synthetic drugs
Describe broad-spectrum range of activity.
greatest range of activity, exert effects on cellular components which are found in most pathogens
Describe medium-spectrum range of activity.
effective on a wider range of cell types
Describe narrow-spectrum range of activity.
effective on a small range of cell types, goal of antibiotic stewardship is to prescribe this type (lower antibiotic resistance)