The new antibiotics.
It is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the new antibiotics and difficult to keep abreast of the appropriate indications for each of them. For most patients with community-acquired infections, the first-line agent is usually not one of the newer agents, but a standard regimen, or at times, no antibiotic at all. The development of resistance is likely to parallel the extent to which these agents are prescribed. They should be used only when standard treatment fails, when compliance with treatment is a real and serious issue, or when the patient has a real allergic reaction to the standard regimen.
Birnbaumer
D
D
Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA. dianeb@emedharbor.edu
Fernández-Frackelton
M
M
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D005578:Fosfomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides; D014769:Virginiamycin / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D018942:Macrolides; D014769:Virginiamycin; C062940:quinupristin-dalfopristin; D005578:Fosfomycin