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Abstract
Antimicrobials are drugs used to treat infectious diseases. Principles of antimicrobial therapy are similar to cancer therapy. Together, treatment of infection and cancer is known as chemotherapy. Infectious diseases are curable contrary to cancer therapy. Antimicrobial therapy can be definitive, empirical, or prophylactic. Initially, single drug is sufficient to produce clinical cure, however, due to emergence of resistance even combination therapies are unreliable in curing the infection in current time. Main focus of antimicrobial therapy is selective targeted therapy in order to avoid toxicity to the host and to avoid emergence of resistance. This is achieved by understanding the PK/PD parameters of antimicrobials such as bactericidal and static nature, spectrum of activity, host factors, and biology of the organism. Choosing appropriate antibiotic according to the type of therapy and organism for adequate duration is important in combating resistance. Understanding the types and factors for resistance will help in developing strategies for prevention and treatment of resistant microbes.
Keywords
- Antimicrobial
- Selected toxicity
- Resistance
- Combination therapy
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Authors and Affiliations
Department of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Karaikal, India
Dhivya Elango
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Correspondence to Dhivya Elango .
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Department of Pharmacology & Clinical Skills, Medical University of the Americas, Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Abialbon Paul
Department of Pharmacology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India
Nishanthi Anandabaskar
Department of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India
Jayanthi Mathaiyan
Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar, Hyderabad Metropolitan Region, Telangana, India
Gerard Marshall Raj
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Elango, D. (2021). General Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy. In: Paul, A., Anandabaskar, N., Mathaiyan, J., Raj, G.M. (eds) Introduction to Basics of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Springer, Singapore. //doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6009-9_52
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DOI: //doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6009-9_52
Published: 14 March 2021
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-33-6008-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-33-6009-9
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