Antimicrobial Therapy - Tutorial 4
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Define selective toxicity
The ability to kill the microbe but not harm the patient
Define the terms bactericidal & bacteriostatic
Bactericidal: directly kill the bacteria Bacteriostatic: inhibit growth of the bacteria that then enables the body’s defence mechanisms to remove the bacteria
Describe the difference between broad spectrum and narrow spectrum antibiotics, and explain the advantages & disadvantages of each
• Broad spectrum - kill a wide range of Gram-positive & Gram-negative bacteria but also destroy normal flora and increases AB resistance But has an immediate start • Narrow spectrum - effective against a select group of pathogens. Kills fewer normal flora and decreases AB resistance, disadvantage organism is not killed if wrong AB and takes longer to identify
Explain the term antibiotic resistance & give one example of an infection that is resistant
It is the acquired ability of a microbe to resist the effects of an antimicrobial agent to which it is normal susceptible, example; MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
Describe three ways to reduce antibiotic resistance
• Avoid excessive prescribing of antimicrobials • Finish the full course of antibiotics to discourage the survival and proliferation of resistant strains • Never use left-over antibiotics or antibiotics that are prescribed for someone else • Avoid forming aerosols when drawing up antibiotics
List four ways antimicrobials work
• interferes with cell wall synthesis • interfere with DNA replication • interfere with protein synthesis • interrupt metabolic reactions inside the cell