Antibacterials



Antibacterial: Anything that destroys bacteria or suppresses their growth or their ability to reproduce. Heat, chemicals such as chlorine, and antibiotic drugs all have antibacterial properties. Many antibacterial products for cleaning and handwashing are sold today. Such products do not reduce the risk for symptoms of viral infectious diseases in otherwise healthy persons. This does not preclude the potential contribution of antibacterial products to reducing symptoms of bacterial diseases in the home.

Cultures and antibiotic sensitivity testing are essential for selecting a drug for serious infections. However, treatment must often begin before culture results are available, necessitating selection according to the most likely pathogens (empiric antibiotic selection). Whether chosen according to culture results or not, drugs with the narrowest spectrum of activity that can control the infection should be used. For empiric treatment of serious infections that may involve any one of several pathogens (eg, fever in neutropenic patients) or that may be due to multiple pathogens (eg, polymicrobial anaerobic infection), a broad spectrum of activity is desirable. The most likely pathogens and their susceptibility to antibiotics vary according to geographic location (within cities or even within a hospital) and can change from month to month. For serious infections, combinations of antibiotics are often necessary because multiple species of bacteria may be present or because combinations act synergistically against a single species of bacteria. Synergism is usually defined as a more rapid and complete bactericidal action from a combination of antibiotics than occurs with either antibiotic alone. A common example is a cell wall–active antibiotic (eg, a β-lactam, vancomycin) plus an aminoglycoside.

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