The Public Semester 2 Flashcards
What is cystic fibrosis?
- Chronic disease affecting 1 in 25 which results in a build up of mucous which is too viscous therefore stays in the throat therefore infection lingers.
- Life expectancy –> 45
What causes cystic fibrosis?
- Single faulty gene CTFR
- Chest infections
- Fatty diarrhoea as fat isn’t properly absorbed from diet
- Poor weight gain
Where is S.aureus found?
Skin - causes infection when in chest and airways.
- If get it <2 years old = increased mortality
What is the median age of acquisition of pseudonomas infection in CF?
3 years of age (isolation has no impact)
What is pseudonomal colonisation associated with?
- Mortality 2.6 more likely to die with 8 years
- Delayed growth
Characteristics of psuedonomas?
- Hospital acquired
- Opportunistic
- Gram neg rod
- Single polar flagellum for motility
- Doesn’t require many nutrients to live
- 0.5-3um in size
Psuedonomas source?
- Water
- Soil
- Plant
- Human
- Animal surfaces
- Part of normal human flora in some populations
Psuedonomas virulence factors:
- Invasive
- Toxigenic
- Minimal nutrition
- Produces extracellular proteases to assist bacterial adhesion and invasion
- Produce alginates to aid in biofilm formation
How is pseudonomas transmitted?
Biofilm–> environmental sources i.e. sinks and drains
- invasive medical devices
Human transmission source –> colonisation as part of the normal human flora
Pseudonomas diagnosis?
- bacterial culture on agar –> from wound, tissue, blood, sputum, discharge, stool
- urine analysis
- FBC = poor blood count
- corneal scrapings
- Fluorescence under UV light
- Sweet fruity odour
What are biofilms?
organism that grows on surface which can grow extracellular material.
Includes alginates
Matrix encapsulates cells
Medical conditions caused by pseudomonas areginosa?
- Respiratory tract infections
- Sepsis
- Endocarditis
- Meningitis or brain abcess
- Keratitis
- UTI’s
- Secondary would infection
What happens to mucus in CF?
- Airways secrete a thick mucus
- Mucus too thick so cilia mechanism doesn’t work
- Mucus remains in airways gathering infection.
Pathophysiology of pseudonomas?
- Pseudonomas colonises the mucus in the lower respiratory tract and then grows to cover the epithelium:
- > biofilm proliferation
- -> scarring and access formation
- -> Biofilms represent different strains and sensitivites
- -> Affects antibacterial choices
How effective is early intervention?
Can eradicate pseudonomas for up to 2 years
Nebulisation or inhalation of solution (advantages)
- Discrete and portable
- No loss of efficacy
- Easy to use covering all ages
- Dry powder inhalers
Oral antibiotics for psuedomonas:
Ciprofloxacin:
- Fluoroquinolone
- Well absorbed from GI tract
- Primary hepatic metabolism which is accelerated in CF patients.
Azithromycin:
- Interferes with adherence of pseudomonas to epithelium
- use for anti inflammatory effects
- Modifies biofilm structure and growth
- 10mg/kg daily
Infective exacerbations definition:
- Reduced in FEV1 to <50% of expected
- Acute changes on Xray
- Increased breathlessness or decreased exercise intolerance
Actions taken in clinic:
- Sputum sample
- IV access
- Admit
- Empirical antibiotics
What empirical antibiotics are used for first pseudonomal infection?
Ceftazidimine
- 3rd gen cephalosporin
- Particularly active against psuedonomas
- Reserved in the UK only for this indication
Tobramycin
- amino glycoside with favourable nephrotoxicity profile
- good activity against pseudonomas
- Then onto eradication therapy.
What are subsequent infections guided by?
Sensitivity from last exacerbation.
What are cephalosporins?
- Most widely prescribed antibiotics
- Beta lactam AB’s
- Inhibit cell wall synthesis
- Broad spectrum
- Bacteriacidal
How is resistance acquired (cephalosporins):
I) altered binding site
II) decreased permeability
III) beta lactamases
How many generations of cephalosporins are there?
5