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Abstract
This article reviews several new, relatively broad-spectrum antibiotics that have
utility in the emergency department (ED). The quinolones have excellent activity against
gram-negative organisms, including gonococcus, and are characterized by very high
bioavailability after oral administration. The new beta-lactams aztreonam and imipenem
have broad spectra but limited usefulness to the emergency physician, and should be
reserved for judicious use in severe infections, particularly those involving Pseudomonas. Clavulanate, sulbactam, and tazobactam are themselves antimicrobials that have been
combined with beta-lactams such as ampicillin and ticarcillin to produce agents with
significant potential utility in the ED; these are typically not first-line agents,
however, and their use should be governed by both clinical and cost concerns. Finally,
three older antibiotics—vancomycin, metronidazole, and clindamycin—are reviewed with
respect to updated indications for their use in the ED.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 18,
1995
Received in revised form:
September 8,
1995
Received:
March 15,
1995
Footnotes
☆Pharmacology in Emergency Medicine is coordinated by Richard F. Clark, md, of the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, and the San Diego Regional Poison Center, San Diego, California.
Identification
Copyright
© 1996 Published by Elsevier Inc.
