Antibiotic Resistance, Antimicrobial Therapy, and Infectious Disease Management

Vocabulary flashcards covering mechanisms of action, resistance transmission, clinical considerations, and microbial dynamics from the lecture on antibiotics and viral therapeutics.

Antibiotics

Drugs designed specifically to fight off bacterial infections, primarily functioning as secondary prevention to eliminate pathogens and prevent severe complications or death.

Selective toxicity

The pharmacological property where a chemical selectively kills or disables bacterial cells by targeting features unique to them without harming host human cells.

Penicillin

The first discovered antibiotic, derived from a fungus, which acts by punching holes in the bacterial cell wall, causing the cell to burst from osmotic pressure.

Narrow-spectrum antibiotic

An antibiotic agent, such as streptomycin or tobramycin, that targets only specific, limited groups or types of bacteria.

Broad-spectrum antibiotic

An antibiotic agent, such as tetracyclines, that acts widely against diverse groups of bacteria, including both gram-negative and gram-positive organisms.

Therapeutic index

The clinical determination balancing drug benefits against potential risks and side effects, establishing the proper drug choice, dosage, and duration based on individual patient factors.

Superinfection

A secondary infection that emerges when a broad-spectrum antibiotic destroys the protective normal microbiota, allowing opportunistic pathogens like yeast or resistant bacteria to proliferate.

Clostridium difficile (C. diff)

A bacterium with natural antibiotic resistance that can overgrow in the intestines following antibiotic treatment, resulting in severe and painful infections.

Plasmid

An extra piece of bacterial DNA that can encode one or more antibiotic resistance genes and be passed to subsequent generations or transferred horizontally.

Horizontal gene transfer

The direct transfer of genetic material, such as antibiotic resistance genes on a plasmid, from one bacterium to another bacterium.

MRSA

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; a resistant bacterial pathogen that emerged following methicillin use and can cause serious bloodstream infections such as sepsis.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

A highly drug-resistant, hospital-acquired bacterial strain, historically nicknamed 'Iraqibacter', that is targeted by experimental antibiotics directed at the lipopolysaccharide system.

Paxlovid

An antiviral medication cited as an effective targeted therapeutic treatment for COVID-19 infections.

Cytokine storm

A hyperactive systemic immune response triggered during severe infection where excessive signaling molecules induce systemic shock and organ failure.

SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 that spreads readily through presymptomatic and asymptomatic carriers, targeting host tissues via the ACE2 receptor.