In this article an infectious diseases pharmacist discusses something cool and something lame with 5Â antibiotics.Â
Authored By: Timothy P. Gauthier, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCIDP
Article Posted October 2024, First Released in the August 2024 IDstewardship Newsletter
1. Ciprofloxacin
Something cool: It can be given orally to treat a variety of different Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections â yay for avoiding intravenous catheters!
Something lame: It is associated with a laundry list of toxicities â big yikes!
2. Doxycycline
Something cool: Not only can it kill a wide variety of pathogenic microbes, it can also be used for non-infectious purposes as a sclerosis agent.
Something lame: It can cause esophagitis if a tablet gets stuck in your throat. Itâs a bad time.
3. Methenamine
Something cool: The mechanism of action is that at a low urine pH (goal typically less than 5.5) it turns to formaldehyde which exerts a bacterial effect and most bacteria cannot become resistant to formaldehyde.
Something lame: Itâs only indication is for prevention of UTI, it cannot be used for treatment.
4. Linezolid
Something cool: It can be given orally for very complicated infections caused by drug-resistant organisms such as VRE and MRSA. Awesome oral bioavailability FTW!
Something lame: Long-term use is associated with numerous toxicities, including optic neuritis leading to complete blindness. FWIW at least itâs typically reversible.
5. Rifampin
Something cool: It can penetrate into biofilms to help treat hardware-related infections. This is special, many antibiotics do not get into biofilms well.
Something lame: Is an inducer of CYP-450 and may cause the concentrations of other drugs to become considerably lowered. It also has almost no use as monotherapy, which is also pretty sad.
Disclaimer:Â The views and opinions presented in this article represent those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of any previous, current, or potential future employer.
RECOMMENDED TO YOU
Â
