Antimicrobial Part I Flashcards
Bacteriostatic
• Thought to arrest growth and replication of bacteria at drug levels achieved • Most of these agents are able to effectively kill pathogens, but they are unable to meet the arbitrary cut-off value in the bacterial definition
Bactericidal
• Able to effectively kill
>/=99% within 18-24° of
incubation
True or False: It is possible for a drug to be bacteriostatic for one microbe and bactericidal for another
TRUE
MBC—Minimum Bactericidal Concentration
Lowest concentration of antimicrobial agent that
results in a 99.9% decline in colony count after
overnight broth dilution incubations
MBC is rarely determined in clinical practice
What abx should you not give children?
Young children should not receive
Tetracyclines or Quinolones which can
affect teeth, bones and joints
*congenital abnormalities have
been seen after pregnant women have
taken tetracyclines—so should not be
prescribed
When do you use parental route for abx?
Parenteral route is used when the med is poorly absorbed from the GI tract and for those with serious infections that need high serum concentrations of the antibiotic
Name to abx poorly absorbed in the gut and do not achieve high enough serum levels via oral ingestion
vanc and aminoglycosides
three important properties that greatly
influence the frequency of dosing;
Concentration-dependent killing
Time-dependent [concentration-
independent] killing
Postantibiotic effect [PAE]
Concentration Dependent Killing
Certain drugs—such as aminoglycosides and Daptomycin show a large increase in the rate of bacterial killing as the concentration of the drug increases from 4 to 64 times the MIC of the drug for the causative pathogen
Giving drugs that exhibit this concentration-killing by a once a day bolus infusion obtains high peak levels—that cause rapid killing of the bug
Postantibiotic Effect [PAE]
Persistent suppression of microbial growth that occurs after levels of the drug have fallen below the MIC
Drugs that have a PAE often require one dose per day—especially against gram negative bacteria
[aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones]
Narrow Spectrum
• Agents acting on a single or limited group of microbes • An example—INH is active only against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Extended Spectrum
• Drugs that are modified to be effective against gram + organisms and also against
a number of gram –bacteria
• An example—Ampicillin
Broad Spectrum
• Drugs affect a wide variety of microbe
species
• These drugs can alter the nature of the
normal bacterial flora and lead to
superinfection from pathogens such as
C. difficile [the growth of which is normally kept in check by other colonizing bacteria]
• Examples—Tetracyclines,
Fluoroquinolones, Carbapenems
Advantages of combination antimicrobial drugs
Some combinations show synergy [ß-lactams + aminoglycosides]
Because synergism is pretty rare, we use these combinations in special cases—enterococcal endocarditis
Combinations often used when infection is of unknown etiology or several organisms with variable sensitivities—such as TB
Disadvantages of Combinations
of Antimicrobial Drugs
Many drugs work only when pathogens are multiplying, so when combinations are given, where one is bactericidal and other is bacteriostatic—the 1st drug may interfere with the action of the 2ndagent
For example—bacteriostatic tetracyclines interfere with the bactericidal effects of PCN and cephalosporins
Another concern is development of resistance from giving unneeded combinations
Genetic Alterations Leading to Drug Resistance
Acquired antibiotic resistance requires the
temporary or permanent gain or alteration of
bacterial genetic information
Resistance occurs due to the ability of DNA to change/mutate or to move from one organism to another
Red man syndrome
Some reactions related to rate of infusion
ex: from rapid infusion of Vancomycin
Patients with history of Stevens-Johnson syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrosis from an antibiotic should NEVER_____
be rechallenged, not even for antibiotic desensitization
Direct Toxicity
High serum drug levels can cause toxicity by directly affecting cellular processes in the patient
Aminoglycosides can cause ototoxicity by interfering with membrane function in the auditory hair cells
Chloramphenicol can be toxic to mitochondria leading to bone marrow suppression
Fluoroquinolones can have effects on cartilage and tendons
Tetracyclines can directly affect bones
Many antibiotics can cause photosensitivity
Superinfections
Antimicrobials—especially those with broad spectrums or combinations can cause altered normal bacterial flora in respiratory tract, mouth, GI and GU tracts—
thus allowing overgrowth of opportunistic agents, fungi or resistant bacteria
These infections will then require secondary therapy
Antimicrobials are classified by:
Chemical structure
Mechanism of action
Activity against particular types
of pathogens
Cell Wall Inhibitors
These antibiotics selectively interfere with synthesis of the bacterial cell wall
The cell wall is made of polymer called peptidoglycan that consists of glycan units joined to each other by peptide cross-links
The antibiotics that inhibit cell walls require actively proliferating microorganisms
Families of cell wall inhibitors
Penicillins
Cephalosporins
Carbapenems
Penicillins
Consist of a core 4 membered ß-lactam ring—which is attached to a thiazolidine ring and an R side chain
Drugs in this family differ from each other in the R substitute attached to the 6-aminopenicillanic acid residue—this side chain affects the drugs spectrum, stability in the stomach acid, cross-sensitivity and susceptibility to bacterial degradation enzymes—better known as ß-lactamases