ANTIMICROBIAL THERAPY FOR ANAEROBIC INFECTIONS

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 19, 61-72
Abstract
Increasing understanding of anaerobes and the infections they cause has reaffirmed that benzyl-penicillin is a useful agnet when Bacteroides fragilis group organisms can be ruled out. At the same time, the number of instances in which penicillin-resistant bacteroides can be ruled out seems to be diminishing. For the most serious anaerobic infections, the clinician must turn to an agent such as chloramphenicol, clindamycin or metronidazole. As a group, these drugs are the most reliably effective against clinically significant B. fragilis and most other anaerobes; gaps in their spectrum can be covered with benzyl-penicillin. A major drawback with chloramphenicol, in particular, remains its potential toxicity, a feature that underscores the importance of matching the antimicrobial agent to the target. The less consistently reliable agents tend to be the less potentially toxic; they should be used if the anaerobic infection is judged not serious or life threatening. The more potent, potentially more toxic drugs should be used when life is in danger.

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