Antibiotic Regimens resource

[Transformers]

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Antibiotic regimens blow my mind...esp. when I am on different rotations (peds, medicine, ob/gyn, surg) plus inpatient vs. outpatient...is there any helpful resource/pdf for the most common antibiotic regimens?

Thanks.

 

[Raryn]

I've said it on the forums a few times, but I do really like the EMRA antibiotic guide for empiric choices. App or physical book, doesn't matter.

 

[Brain Bucket]

I've said it on the forums a few times, but I do really like the EMRA antibiotic guide for empiric choices. App or physical book, doesn't matter.

I hadn't seen this before. thanks 🙂

 

[Transformers]

I hadn't seen this before. thanks 🙂

Well the EMRA book is good for sure as a resident...But as a medical student, I'm not interested so much in dosing or pharmacology...just a mere algorithmic/table based approach to antibiotics organized by system/type of patient (and common associated infections) in a .pdf in <20-30 pages

I bring this up, because my approach and understanding of antibiotics prior to 3rd year was clinical micro made simple/First Aid which is good at teaching mechanisms/coverage but has very little practical implications.

 

[Brain Bucket]

Well the EMRA book is good for sure as a resident...But as a medical student, I'm not interested so much in dosing or pharmacology...just a mere algorithmic/table based approach to antibiotics organized by system/type of patient (and common associated infections) in a .pdf in <20-30 pages

I bring this up, because my approach and understanding of antibiotics prior to 3rd year was clinical micro made simple/First Aid which is good at teaching mechanisms/coverage but has very little practical implications.

I know what you mean. I start clinicals in a few months. I expect I'll have to make my own little cheat pamphlet with more than a little help from the EMRA guide.

Still, an algorithm that's ready to go would be a welcome find.

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[Evil_Abed]

I bring this up, because my approach and understanding of antibiotics prior to 3rd year was clinical micro made simple/First Aid which is good at teaching mechanisms/coverage but has very little practical implications.

These resources actually do provide pretty good practical guidance in antibiotic choice. I haven't had any significant issues applying the concepts from those books.

The problem is that the specific algorithm you're seeking will vary from hospital to hospital, depending on organisms they commonly see, susceptibilities, etc. Chances are that there's an algorithm for different infectious processes (ex. PNA) somewhere in your hospital's website (the section you can access from the in-hospital computers or after logging in).

Edit: For other things, like GBS prophylaxis in pregnancy, there's published guidelines on ACOG or AAP (can't remember exactly where I got them from) and they're in a nice algorithm format that you're looking for. You could probably find some sort of flowchart for different abx on Uptodate or by searching the major specialty sites (ex. AAP, ACOG, etc) for the specific disease.

 

[pacman2018]

as others mentioned above, treatments will vary from institution to institution mostly due to formulary restrictions as well as the local antibiogram. i will say that the IDSA guidelines are great for look up infections based on organ system. they are obviously very lengthy and go deep into the evidence, but almost all of them have an executive summary somewhere in there as well as some nice charts so that you don't have to read that whole damn thing. UpToDate and Dynamed are also obviously good resources as well for a quick summary/recommendations.

 

[Raryn]

Well the EMRA book is good for sure as a resident...But as a medical student, I'm not interested so much in dosing or pharmacology...just a mere algorithmic/table based approach to antibiotics organized by system/type of patient (and common associated infections) in a .pdf in <20-30 pages

I bring this up, because my approach and understanding of antibiotics prior to 3rd year was clinical micro made simple/First Aid which is good at teaching mechanisms/coverage but has very little practical implications.

Things like the EMRA handbook *are* an algorithmic based approach to antibiotics organized by type of infection. Your specific question was "is there any helpful resource/pdf for the most common antibiotic regimens?" and the book I pointed you to is explicitly one which lists the most common empiric regimens for a wide variety of infections, pediatric and adult.

Look, there's very little you actually have to know about antibiotics: Generally the spectrum of coverage (gram +, gram -, anaerobe, specifically MRSA and pseudomonas), the penetration into various tissues (primarily lung, urine, GI, soft tissue), and any major side effects/contraindications. You can get that mostly from the board review resources you listed. Combine that with an even more basic understanding of what the most common organisms are for various infections and you can reason your way to a likely reasonable choice for a lot of infections. But you didn't ask for a way to reason your way to a reasonable choice, you asked for a way to find out what the most common choices are for things. For that, you need something that lists them.

The dosing is unimportant for you as a medical student for sure... but the only pharmacology mentioned in any practical resources is primarily what to do if the patient has renal or hepatic failure, and you can be damn sure that's something your attendings will expect you to at least be aware of on rounds.