Chemistry:Combination antibiotic
A combination antibiotic is one in which two ingredients are added together for additional therapeutic effect.[1] One or both ingredients may be antibiotics.[1] Antibiotic combinations are increasingly important because of antimicrobial resistance.[2] This means that individual antibiotics that used to be effective are no longer effective,[1] and because of the absence of new classes of antibiotic, they allow old antibiotics to be continue to be used.[2] In particular, they may be required to treat multiresistant organisms,[1][2] such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.[3] Some combinations are more likely to result in successful treatment of an infection.[1]
Uses
Antibiotics are used in combination for a number of reasons:
- to treat multiresistant organisms,[1][2] such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.[3]
- Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, which includes the beta lactam amoxicillin with the suicide inhibitor clauvanic acid, which helps the amoxicillin overcome the action of beta lactamase
- because a person may be infected with more than one microbe simultaneously,[3] for example infections of the abdominal cavity after bowel perforation.
- because antibiotics used together may act synergisticly to increase the efficacy of both,[3]
- because antibiotics used together may have a broader spectrum than each antibiotic used individually.[3]
Examples
Examples of combinations include:[citation needed]
- Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, which includes the beta lactam amoxicillin with the suicide inhibitor clauvanic acid, which helps the amoxicillin overcome the action of beta lactamase
- Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
Research
Research into combination antibiotics is ongoing.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Bassetti, Matteo; Righi, Elda (October 2015). "New antibiotics and antimicrobial combination therapy for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections". Current Opinion in Critical Care 21 (5): 402–411. doi:10.1097/MCC.0000000000000235. PMID 26263298.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tyers, Mike; Wright, Gerard D. (25 January 2019). "Drug combinations: a strategy to extend the life of antibiotics in the 21st century". Nature Reviews Microbiology 17 (3): 141–155. doi:10.1038/s41579-018-0141-x. PMID 30683887.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Ahmed, A; Azim, A; Gurjar, M; Baronia, AK (May 2014). "Current concepts in combination antibiotic therapy for critically ill patients.". Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine 18 (5): 310–4. doi:10.4103/0972-5229.132495. PMID 24914260.
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