How Do Drugs Work - Classes of Antibiotics

Hello Everyone,

I was at a meeting all last week and I didn't have time to write. I am glad to be back.

On my last post I wrote about different types of bacteria, Gram Positive, Gram Negative and Anaerobes. Now I am going to start talking about the different types of antibiotics that are used to treat the different types of bacteria.

Now you might think that the antibiotics are used to treat different types of conditions like pneumonia or skin infections. However, the antibiotics are selected to work against the most common type of bacteria that cause those conditions (empiric therapy) or to treat the actual type of bacteria once it has been identified.

There are several different classes of antibiotics that are used to treat the different types of infections. The mechanism of action that these antibiotics use to halt the growth of bacteria (bacteriostatic) or to kill the bacteria (bacteriocidal) is different for the different types of antibiotics.

Some of the antibiotics are effective against Gram Positive organism, some are effective against Gram Negative organisms, some are effective against both types to some degree and others are effective against the anaerobes.We will discuss the different mechanisms of action for these antibiotics.

For now, I just want to introduce the different classes of antibiotics. Here they are in no particular order.

Penicillins
Cephalosporins
Tetracyclines
Aminoglycosides,
Flouroquinolones
Carbapenems
Macrolides
Sulfonamides
Glycyclines
Oxazolidinones
Monobactams
Other various agents that don't fit the above catagories.

Stay tuned for more information on the different classes of antibiotics.

Thanks,

Dr. Paul