A. Empiric therapy prior to organism identificationIdeally, the antimicrobial agent used to treatan infection is selected after the organism hasbeen identified and its drug sensitivity establishedHowever, in the critically ill patient, such a delaycould prove fatal and immediate empiric therapyis indicated
A. Empiric therapy prior to organism identification Ideally, the antimicrobial agent used to treat an infection is selected after the organism has been identified and its drug sensitivity established. However, in the critically ill patient, such a delay could prove fatal and immediate empiric therapy is indicated
1. The acutely ill patient:Acutely ill patients with infections ofunknown origin require immediate treatment.Therapy is initiated after specimens for laboratoryanalysis have been obtained but before the resultsofthecultureareavailable
1. The acutely ill patient: Acutely ill patients with infections of unknown origin require immediate treatment. Therapy is initiated after specimens for laboratory analysis have been obtained but before the results of the culture are available
2. Selecting a drug:The choice of drug in the absence ofsensitivity data is influenced by site of infectionand patient history, for example, whether theinfection was hospital - or community - acquired.whether the patient is immunocompromised, aswell as the patient's travel record and age. Empirictherapy with a combination of antibiotics or asingle drug covering infections by both gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms maybe started initially
2. Selecting a drug: The choice of drug in the absence of sensitivity data is influenced by site of infection and patient history, for example, whether the infection was hospital – or community – acquired, whether the patient is immunocompromised, as well as the patient’s travel record and age. Empiric therapy with a combination of antibiotics or a single drug covering infections by both grampositive and gram-negative microorganisms may be started initially