What should you do before you administer an antibiotic?
Obtain a culture
Describe Empiric therapy and when you will use it.
Empiric therapy is given after specimen collection but prior to culture results. It is the best guess based on what information you have. Used with acutely ill patients that require immediate treatment.
What type of therapy would you provide if a patient presents with severe HA, neck rigidity and senstivity to light. Why?
Empiric therapy because this person is presenting with bacterial meningitis and you need to act before you get results back.
What types of drugs are used with empiric therapy and what influences that choice?
Broad spectrum drugs; influenced by site of infection and pt history (immune status, hospital or community acquired, travel history...)
What is the difference between bactericidal and bacteriostatic?
Bactericidal: decrease microbe population
Bacteriostatic: inhibit further bacterial growth
What must occur for a drug to be effective?
It must reach the site of infection. Duh...
What is the typical duration of an anti-microbial drug treatment?
5-10 days
What special precaution do we take when people have prosthetic joints or foreign objects placed inside them?
Prophylactic anti-infective drugs because foreign objects provide a great place for microbes to grow.
Your patient reports an allergic reaction to erythromycin and describes her symptoms as headache with nausea and vomiting after receiving one does. Is this an allergic reaction? Is it a reason to not give the drug again?
No
What are the symptoms of an allergic reaction?
urticaria (hives)
angioedema (tissue swelling, usually in lips)
Before administering an anti-infective, why should you always ask if a woman is preggers or breastfeeding?
It can fuck up the baby and cause deafness.
Which anti-infectant is associated with serious toxicity and reserved for life-threatening infections? Which is safest?