Antimicrobial therapy for anaerobic infections.
Our increasing understanding of anaerobes and the infections they cause has reaffirmed that benzyl-penicillin is a useful agent when B. fragilis group organisms can be ruled out. At the same time, however, we have also learned that the number of instances in which penicillin-resistant bacteroides can be ruled out seems to be diminishing. For the most serious anaerobic infections, the clinician must turn to an agent such as chloramphenicol, clindamycin, or metronidazole. As a group, these drugs are the most reliably effective against clinically significant B. fragilis and most other anaerobes; gaps in their spectrum can be covered with benzyl-penicillin. A major drawback with chloramphenicol, in particular, remains its potential toxicity, a feature that underscores the importance of matching the antimicrobial weapon to the target. The less consistently reliable agents tend to be the less potentially toxic; they should be used if the anaerobic infection is judged not serious or life threatening. The more potent, potentially more toxic drugs should be used when life is in danger.
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000187:drug effects; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001441:Bacteroides fragilis / Q000187:drug effects; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D007769:Lactams; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D007769:Lactams