Infections Introduction

Question 1

Before choosing an antibacterial, what are the three things that must be considered?

Answer 1

• the patient
• Causative organism
• risk of resistance with repeated courses ( which causes a higher risk of treatment failure)

Question 2

What factors need to be considered before choosing an antibiotic?

Answer 2

• Allergy
• Renal and hepatic failure
• susceptibility to infection (immunocompromised patient or not?)
• ability to tolerate drugs by mouth
• severity of illness
• ethic of origin
• age and other medication, breastfeeding,pregnant?
• taking oral contraceptives?

Question 3

Example of rationale

Answer 3

Viral? Don’t treat with antibiotic
- Samples taken to avoid blind treatment
- knowledge of prevalent organism (narrow spectrum vs. Broad spectrum which are preferred?)
- does patient need a dose adjustment based on weight, age and hepatic function etc
- Route of admin? Depending on severity of condition, is it life threatening? Avoid painful intramuscular if possible in children and vulnerable adults
- Duration of treatment - depends on the nature of the injection and the response to treatment - prolonged could lead to resistance