Antimicrobial agents are essential components in the treatment of various bacterial infections as they help to kill or prevent the growth of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and protozoans. Prior to the discovery of antimicrobial agents, treatment options for patients with bacterial infections were limited. For many patients, treatment often resulted in the amputation of limbs or even death. Today, treatment options for bacterial infections typically have a more positive prognosis. Due to the various types of infections presented in patients, it is essential to be able to identify the underlying cause of the infection—whether bacterial or viral—before recommending drug treatments. This will help you identify whether or not an antimicrobial agent would be appropriate and which specific agent would target the infection. In this Assignment, you consider the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents for infections.

To prepare:

·        Review this week’s media presentation on principles of antimicrobial therapy, as well as Chapter 8 of the Arcangelo and Peterson text.

·        Consider the categories of antimicrobial agents.

·        Think about differences between viral and bacterial infections.

·        Reflect on why proper identification of the infection is key to selecting the proper antimicrobial agent.

To complete:

Write a 2- to 3- page paper (APA format) that addresses the following:

1.      Describe the categories of antimicrobial agents. (use generic names)

2.      Describe differences between viral and bacterial infections.

3.      Explain why proper identification of viral and bacterial infections is key to selecting the proper antimicrobial agent.

 

The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references

Readings

·        Arcangelo, V. P., & Peterson, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice: A practical approach (3rd ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

o   Chapter 8, “Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy” (pp. 96–117)

This chapter covers factors that impact the selection of an antimicrobial treatment regimen. It also examines the clinical uses, adverse events, and drug interactions of various antimicrobial agents such as penicillin.

o   Chapter 12, “Fungal Infections of the Skin” (pp. 141–149)

This chapter explores the pathophysiology of several fungal infections of the skin as well as related drug treatments and examines the importance of patient education when managing these infections.

o   Chapter 14, “Bacterial Infections of the Skin” (pp. 158–172)

This chapter begins by examining causes of bacterial infections. It then explores the importance of selecting an appropriate agent for treating bacterial infections.

o   Chapter 32, “Urinary Tract Infection” (pp. 474–480)

This chapter covers drugs used to treat urinary tract infections and identifies special considerations when treating geriatric patients, pediatric patients, and women.

o   Chapter 35, “Sexually Transmitted Infections” (pp. 512–535)

This chapter outlines the causes, pathophysiology, and drug treatment of six sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea, syphilis, and human papilloma virus infection (HPV). It also examines the importance of selecting the proper agent and monitoring patient response to treatment.

o   Chapter 48, “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” (pp. 748–762)

This chapter presents the causes, pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria, and prevention methods for HIV. It also covers various methods of drug treatment and patient factors to consider when selecting, administering, and managing drug treatments.

·        Krummenacher, I., Cavassini, M., Bugnon, O., & Schneider, M. (2011). An interdisciplinary HIV-adherence program combining motivational interviewing and electronic antiretroviral drug monitoring.AIDS Care, 23(5), 550–561.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article analyzes medication adherence in HIV patients and examines factors that increase adherence as well as factors that contribute to termination or discontinuation of treatment.

·        Drugs.com. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.drugs.com/

This website presents a comprehensive review of prescription and over-the-counter drugs including information on common uses and potential side effects. It also provides updates relating to new drugs on the market, support from health professionals, and a drug-drug interactions checker.

·        Scourfield, A., Waters, L., & Nelson, M. (2011). Drug combinations for HIV: What’s new? Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy, 9(11), 1001–1011. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases

This article examines current therapies and strategies for treating HIV patients. It also examines factors that impact selection of therapy, including drug interactions, personalization of therapy, costs, management of comorbidities, and patient response.

Media

·        Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Antimicrobials. Baltimore, MD: Author.

This media presentation outlines principles of antimicrobial therapy.

 

Introduction

You have now watched all three episodes of “Becoming Human,” a documentary series on human evolution.  In the previous module, we watched the first two episodes and in our introduction to the first episode there was a brief discussion of one of the claims presented, namely that research showed the brain of early hominins had similarities to human brains that living primates like chimpanzees do not.  Remember from that discussion that the claims presented in the video were criticized in peer-reviewed research that came out after the video aired.

You have just completed watching the final episode of the series on Neanderthals and modern humans, “Last Human Standing.”  However, when the documentary aired in 2009, the research on paleogenomics was only just starting and what the video claims is no longer current.  Late in the episode the narrator states, “With no evidence of interbreeding, it now seems more likely that as our population grew, we simply pushed the Neanderthals out of their environments.”  Paleogenomic research since this time paints a very different picture of what happened, not only with Neanderthals, but with a second species of hominins known as the Denisovans, who are described in this Leakey Foundation podcast you can listen to for free (Links to an external site.).   Svante Pääbo, the Swedish geneticist who appeared in “Last Human Standing” has led the paleogenomic research, and with his team was responsible for the discoveries.  Many of the most significant findings since the “Becoming Human” documentary aired are discussed by Pääbo in this lecture:

Instructions

First make sure you have read chapter 11 (“Archaic Humans”) of the Explorations textbook, especially the boxed discussion “Special Topic: Ancient DNA” near the end of the chapter. Once you have done that,  watch and listen to Pääbo’s lecture above.  He will review the important paleogenomic discoveries. As he goes through his research timeline, you will understand why the information in the “Becoming Human” documentary is so wrong given what we now know. Although the lecture is intended for a general audience, some things he discusses will be challenging for you. This is why it is good to read the textbook chapter first.  Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything in the lecture, just keep listening and he will cover the essential findings.

After you have completed  you will write a 500 word update on the what the genetics research on the Neanderthals and Denisovans now shows us about those species and about our own. In your response, you should answer the following series of questions:

• Who are the Neanderthals and the Denisovans?
• What does the “Last Human Standing ” documentary say about the paleogenetic research on Neanderthals and Denisovans?  Why did the documentary get it wrong?  What has happened since the documentary aired?
• What does ancient DNA (aDNA) teach us about each of these species? Which human populations are they connected to?
• What can their genomes tell us about their population structures?
• What does this research show us about our own evolutionary trajectory as modern humans?

As always, you are welcome to exceed the length requirement (your response should simply be more than 500 words long).  When you are finished, place a word count at the bottom of your assignment that looks like this:

[568 Words]

video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4TLaRSJN2k&feature=youtu.be