Introduction to Antibiotics Flashcards
substances produced by various species of microorganisms that suppress the growth or destroy other microorganisms.
Antibiotics
What type anitbiotics directly kill bacteria. No functioning immune system required.
bactericidal
What type antibiotic requires an immune system to eliminate the pathogen?
Bacteriostatic
Do antibiotics fall neatly into bactericidal or bacteriostatic categories?
No, sometimes they can change at different doses
Do you want to combine bacteriostatic and bactericidal antibiotics?
No
What 4 types of antibiotics inhibit cell wall synthesis?
Penicillins
Cephalosporins
Bacitracin
Vancomycin
Do antibiotics only target pathogenic bacteria?
No- they can destroy normal flora as well leading to opportunistic infections
What are 2 main examples of bacterias that take over when you kill off normal flora.
Candida
Clostridium difficile
What antibiotics are part of the beta lactam antibiotics?
Penicillins
Cephalosporins
Carbapenems
Monobactrams
What are 4 agents that inhibit cell wall synthesis?
Penicillins Cephalosporins Cycloserine Vancomycin Bacitracin
What is an agent that acts directly on the cell membrane of the microorganism affecting permeability and leading to leakage of intracellular compounds.
Detergents (polymyxin)
What are the 2 ways antibiotics are used?
As an empirical therapy (broad spectrum)
As definitive therapy (choose selective therapy)
Why do you not want to continue broad spectrum antibiotics?
Will build resistance much faster
When should you get a culture?
Before starting antibiotic therapy
WIll you ever choose a bacteriostatic medication in an individual with a compromised immune system?
No, always choose bactericidial
Why does natural resistance occur?
Antibiotics fail to reach the target
Decreased permeability for cells that need to act on nucleic acid
lactamases deactivate beta-lactams
What does MRSA stand for?
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus
WHat are examples of 2 antibiotic resistance conditions.
MRSA
Mycobacteria tuberculosis
Why do cell wall inhibitors work so well?
Our cells don’t have walls so it targets cells that aren’t ours
What do cell wall inhibitors need to work?
Dividing bacteria (so don’t want to give something that also slows growth with it)
What is within the beta lactam compounds?
Penicillins Cephalosporins Carbapenems Monobactams Beta lactamase inhibitors
What is the beta lactam rings unstable to?
pH
beta-lactamases
What do the beta lactam drugs do in our bodies?
Undergo acetylation in our body
undergo a covalent bond with trans-peptidase
What 2 things are beta-lactam antibiotics generally?
Bactericidal
most active against growing organisms