How do narrow spectrum antibiotics work

Learning Objectives Compare narrow and broad spectrum antibiotics. Key Points Broad spectrum antibiotics act against a larger group of bacteria.

Narrow spectrum antibiotis target specific bacteria such as Gram positive or Gram negative. Three new classes of antibacterial antibiotics have been brought into clinical use: cyclic lipopeptides such as daptomycin , glycylcyclines such as tigecycline , and oxazolidinones such as linezolid.

Key Terms Gram stain : A method of differentiating bacterial species into two large groups Gram-positive and Gram-negative. Figure: Gram Stain : This is a microscopic image of a Gram stain of mixed Gram-positive cocci Staphylococcus aureus , purple and Gram-negative bacilli Escherichia coli , red.

These can be a real burden for families. Electronic health records of infants and children up to age 12 diagnosed with an acute respiratory tract infection ARTI and prescribed an oral antibiotic were employed.

Along with the retrospective analysis, the study team focused on a cohort of 2, children, conducting telephone interviews with caregivers to measure certain outcomes —adverse drug effects, additional childcare costs, lingering symptoms, and missed school days. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were found to create a higher risk of adverse events compared to narrow-spectrum antibiotics—3.

Specifically, of 30, children in the retrospective cohort—19, with acute otitis media; 6, with group A streptococcal pharyngitis; and 4, with acute sinusitis—4, were prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics including amoxicillin-clavulanate, cephalosporins, and macrolides. The study further emphasizes that broad-spectrum treatment was not associated with a lower rate of treatment failure—3. Some microbes, for example, produce substances specifically to kill other nearby bacteria in order to gain an advantage when competing for food, water or other limited resources.

However, some microbes only produce antibiotics in the laboratory. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. Some are highly specialised and are only effective against certain bacteria. Others, known as broad-spectrum antibiotics, attack a wide range of bacteria, including ones that are beneficial to us.

There are two main ways in which antibiotics target bacteria. They either prevent the reproduction of bacteria, or they kill the bacteria, for example by stopping the mechanism responsible for building their cell walls. The introduction of antibiotics into medicine revolutionised the way infectious diseases were treated. Between and , average human life expectancy jumped by eight years, with antibiotics used to treat infections that were previously likely to kill patients.