What are broad-spectrum antibiotics?

Antibiotics are drugs commonly used to treat infections at different sites in the body. Therefore, identifying the infection focal point will assist the doctor in choosing the right antibiotic for the patient. In some cases, broad-spectrum antibiotics are chosen to treat infections of unknown etiology or suspected to have multiple bacterial groups.

Antibiotics are pharmaceutical substances produced from microorganisms or synthetic chemicals with very small doses that inhibit or kill pathogenic microorganisms, which can be used locally or systemically, with little or no toxicity. Non-toxic to the body. There are two ways to classify antibiotics based on their spectrum of action and based on the chemical structure of the drug.
Each antibiotic will rely on a specific mechanism that has a bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect and only works on certain strains of bacteria that make up the spectrum of action of that antibiotic. Based on this, scientists have divided into two groups of antibiotics:
Narrow-spectrum antibiotics: are selective antibiotics that work on only one or a few certain species of bacteria. Broad-spectrum antibiotic: is an antibiotic with a broad spectrum of activity against many species of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. SEE ALSO: What microorganisms can antibiotics fight?

2.1. Beta-lactam group Studies on chemical structure changes of penicillins and cephalosporins in the beta-lactam antibiotic subgroup have created carbapenems, which are bactericidal antibiotics with broad antibacterial spectrum and very strong activity against gram-negative bacteria. . Some typical antibiotics in this group include: imipenem, meropenem, doripenem or ertapenem with a very broad spectrum of activity against both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
2.2. Phenicol group Typical phenicol antibiotics include chloramphenicol and thiamphenicol, in which chloramphenicol is a natural antibiotic and thiamphenicol is a synthetic antibiotic. Phenicol group of antibiotics has a broad antibacterial spectrum including gram-positive cocci and some strains of gram-negative bacteria or anaerobic and atypical strains. However, in clinical practice, the drug is no longer commonly used due to the long history that makes the pathogenic bacteria strains resistant to the drug at a high rate and the drug can also have serious toxicity on the process. blood formation.

2.3. Cyclin group Antibiotics of the cyclin group have broad antibacterial spectrum against many bacterial strains including atypical strains such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia spp. In addition, the drug is also effective against some spirochetes such as Treponema pallidum (syphilis) or Borellia recurrentis. Because it has been used for a long time, the rate of bacteria resistant to tetracyclines is also very high. Therefore, some cyclins used later, such as doxycycline or minocycline, may be active against bacteria that are already resistant to tetracyclines.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics are antibiotics that have a broad spectrum of action against many species of bacteria. Therefore, in order to choose the right antibiotic, to avoid the misuse of antibiotics, to use antibiotics for the wrong purposes, patients should choose medical facilities to examine and treat the disease and receive medical treatment. Prescribe appropriate medication.
Vinmec International General Hospital is a prestigious address in the examination, treatment and prevention of diseases. When performing the examination process at Vinmec, customers will be welcomed and used modern facilities and equipment along with leading medical services under the guidance and advice of doctors. Good doctors, well-trained both at home and abroad.

In case it is necessary to use antibiotics to treat diseases, doctors at Vinmec will provide a treatment plan, and advise and guide patients to use antibiotics correctly, effectively as well as Limit the abuse, indiscriminate use of antibiotics causing unwanted effects of drugs such as antibiotic resistance.