Antibiotics

Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medications in healthcare. Nursing responsibilities include: correct administration, allergy verification, monitoring for adverse effects, obtaining cultures before administration, and supporting antibiotic stewardship to prevent resistance. Antibiotic stewardship is the systematic effort to ensure antibiotics are used only when truly indicated, at the right dose, route, and duration — to optimize patient outcomes and minimize resistance development and adverse effects. Mechanism overview: - Cell wall synthesis inhibitors: penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, vancomycin - Protein synthesis inhibitors: aminoglycosides (30S ribosome), tetracyclines (30S), macrolides (50S), clindamycin (50S), linezolid (50S) - DNA/RNA synthesis inhibitors: fluoroquinolones (DNA gyrase), rifampin (RNA polymerase), metronidazole (DNA strand breakage) - Cell membrane disruptors: polymyxins (polymyxin B, colistin) - Antimetabolites: trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (folate synthesis)