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antibiotic
- having or pertaining to the ability to destroy or interfere with the development of a living organism
- used most commonly to refer to antibacterial drugs
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antispetic
- one of two types of topical antimicrobial agent
- chemical that inhibits the growth and reproduction of microorganisms without necessarily killing them
- also called static agents
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bactericidal antibiotics
antibiotics that kill bacteria
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bacteriostatic antibodies
antibiotics that do not actually kill bacteria but rather inhibit their growth
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beta-lactam
- designation for a broad, major class of antibiotics that include four subclasses: penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and monobactams
- so named because the beta lactam ring that is part of the chemical structure of all drug in this class
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Beta-lactamase
any of a group of enzymes produced by bacteria that catalyze the chemical opening of the crucial beta-lactam ring structures in beta-lactam antibiotics
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beta-lactamase inhibitors
medications combined with certain penicillin drugs to block the effect of beta-lactamase enzymes
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colonization
the establishment and growth of microorganisms on the skin, open wounds, or mucous membranes, or in secretions without causing adverse clinical signs or symptoms
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community-associated infection
an infection that is acquired by persons who have not been hospitalized or had a medical procedure recently (within the past year)
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definitive therapy
the administration of antibiotics based on known results of culture and sensitivity testing identifying the pathogen causing infection
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disinfectant
- one of two types of topical antimicrobial agent
- a chemical applied to nonliving objects to kill microorganisms
- also called cidal agents
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empiric therapy
- the administration of antibiotics based on the practitioner's judgment of the pathogens most likely to be causing an apparent infection
- involves the presumptive treatment of an infection to avoid treatment delay before specific culture information has been obtained
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glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
- an inherited disorder in which the red blood cells are partially or completely deficient in G6PD, a critical enzyme in the metabolism of glucose
- certain medications can cause hemolytic anemia in patients with this disorder
- example of a host factor related to drug therapy
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health care-associated infection
- infection that is acquire during the course of receiving treatment for another condition in a health care facility
- infection is not present or incubating at the time of admission
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host factors
factors that are unique to the body of a particular patient that affect the patient's susceptibility to infection and response to various antibiotic drugs
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infections
invasions and multiplications of microorganisms in body tissue
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prophylactic antibiotic therapy
antibiotics taken before anticipated exposure to an infectious organism in an effort to prevent the development of infection
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pseudomembranous colitis
- a necrotizing inflammatory bowel condition that is often associated with antibiotic therapy
- more general term is antibiotic-associated colitis
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slow acetylation
a common genetic host factor in which the rate of metabolism of certain drugs is reduced
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subtherapeutic
- referring to antibiotic treatment that is ineffective in treating a given infection
- possible causes include inappropriate drug therapy, insufficient drug dosing, and bacterial drug resistance
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superinfection
- infection occurring during antimicrobial treatment for another infection, resulting from overgrowth of an organism not susceptible to the antibiotic used
- secondary microbial infection that occurs in addition to an earlier primary infection, often used to weakening of the patient's immune system function by the first infection
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teratogens
substances that can interfere with normal prenatal development and cause one or more developmental abnormalities in the fetus
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therapeutic
referring to antibiotic therapy that results in sufficient concentrations of the drug in the blood or other tissues to render it effective against specific bacterial pathogens
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