Biomaterial Database

Antimicrobial spectrum, pharmacology and therapeutic use of antibiotics. Part 2: penicillins. 1977

M Barza

The mechanism of action, resistance, antibacterial spectrum, clinical pharmacology, adverse effects, and therapeutic and prophylactic use of penicillins are reviewed. The choice of a penicillin is discussed. The only indication for the penicillinase-resistant penicillins is the suspected or demonstrated presence of Staphylococcus aureus. There are no important differences in therapeutic effect among oxacillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin or flucloxacillin by the oral route, or among oxacillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin or methicillin parenterally. Ampicillin is especially useful for infections due to Haemophilus influenzae and Escherchia coli and for serious disease due to enterococcus and Listeria monocytogenes. Carbenicillin and ticarcillin exhibit unique activity against gram-negative bacilli (except Klebsiella).

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007408	Intestinal Absorption	Uptake of substances through the lining of the INTESTINES.	Absorption, Intestinal
D010403	Penicillin Resistance	Nonsusceptibility of an organism to the action of penicillins.	Penicillin Resistances,Resistance, Penicillin,Resistances, Penicillin
D010406	Penicillins	A group of antibiotics that contain 6-aminopenicillanic acid with a side chain attached to the 6-amino group. The penicillin nucleus is the chief structural requirement for biological activity. The side-chain structure determines many of the antibacterial and pharmacological characteristics. (Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed, p1065)	Antibiotics, Penicillin,Penicillin,Penicillin Antibiotics
D004338	Drug Combinations	Single preparations containing two or more active agents, for the purpose of their concurrent administration as a fixed dose mixture.	Drug Combination,Combination, Drug,Combinations, Drug
D001419	Bacteria	One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.	Eubacteria
D001424	Bacterial Infections	Infections by bacteria, general or unspecified.	Bacterial Disease,Bacterial Infection,Infection, Bacterial,Infections, Bacterial,Bacterial Diseases