Week 5 Flashcards
(19 cards)
What are the common side effects of antimicrobial therapy?
Common side effects include toxicity (affecting kidneys, liver, nerves), allergic reactions, and the disruption of normal microbiota, leading to secondary infections or superinfections.
What is Red Man Syndrome and which drug is it associated with?
caused by high doses of rifampin, leading to the accumulation of colored metabolic products that result in bright orange or red urine, saliva, and tears.
How do antibiotics affect normal microbiota?
killing beneficial microorganisms, potentially leading to superinfections like Candida (yeast overgrowth) and Clostridium difficile infections.
What is Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) and why is it a concern in antimicrobial therapy?
a Gram-positive anaerobic rod that can survive antibiotic treatments due to its ability to form endospores
What is the process of endospore formation in C. difficile?
C. difficile forms endospores as a survival mechanism during unfavorable conditions, and the spores can germinate when the drug is discontinued, causing overgrowth and toxins A and B release.
What are the symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection?
abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, GI bleeding, and pseudomembranous colitis, which can lead to perforation of the colon.
How do you treat Clostridium difficile infections?
Treatment includes Vancomycin (which inhibits cell wall synthesis) and Metronidazole (which breaks DNA strands). However, Metronidazole can cause black hairy tongue as a side effect.
What is antibiotic resistance?
occurs when bacteria evolve mechanisms to survive exposure to antibiotics that previously killed them or inhibited their growth.
How does antibiotic resistance develop?
Through mutations in bacterial DNA or by acquiring genes via horizontal gene transfer, such as through transformation, conjugation, or transduction.
What is the role of R plasmids in antibiotic resistance?
carry genes that encode resistance to multiple antibiotics and can be transferred between bacteria via conjugation, transduction, or transformation.
What is the role of efflux pumps in antibiotic resistance?
actively pump antibiotics out of the bacterial cell, reducing the drug’s effectiveness inside the cell and contributing to multi-drug resistance.
How do bacteria modify their target sites to resist antibiotics?
can alter the structure of proteins or enzymes that antibiotics target, making the drug ineffective
What are superbugs?
resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics, often resulting from inappropriate or excessive use of antibiotics in healthcare settings.
What are the ESKAPE pathogens?
Enterococcus faecium
Staphylococcus aureus
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Acinetobacter baumannii
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Enterobacter species
Why are biofilms a concern in antibiotic therapy?
microbial communities that form on surfaces, like medical devices, and provide protection against antibiotics and immune responses, making infections more difficult to treat.
What is quorum sensing in biofilm formation?
a process where bacteria produce signaling molecules that accumulate as the bacterial population grows, coordinating behavior such as biofilm formation and gene expression.
How do biofilms contribute to antibiotic resistance?
protect bacteria from antibiotics and the immune system by acting as a physical barrier and creating microenvironments that allow for the survival of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
What is the role of antimicrobial combinations in fighting resistance?
can enhance synergistic effects, where one drug may increase the effectiveness of another
What is the perfect antimicrobial agent?
The perfect antimicrobial agent would have selective toxicity, be soluble in body fluids, stable, nonallergenic, have long shelf life, and not easily acquire resistance.
