Antibiotics - Beta lactam and beta lactamase inhibitor combinations: Nursing pharmacology

Beta-lactams are a group of antibiotics that contain a beta-lactam ring in their structure that is essential for the antibacterial activity of antibiotics like penicillins and cephalosporins. However, over time, due to their widespread use, some bacteria have acquired resistance by developing enzymes called beta-lactamases. For this reason, some beta-lactam antibiotics are often combined with a class of medications known as beta-lactamase inhibitors in order to treat infections caused by beta-lactam-resistant bacteria like Haemophilus influenzae, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, Bacteroides fragilis, Proteus spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., and Acinetobacter spp. Additionally, cephalosporin-containing combinations are effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Now, beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations typically contain either a penicillin or a cephalosporin combined with a beta-lactamase inhibitor. Commonly used penicillin beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations include amoxicillin-clavulanate, which is given orally; ampicillin-sulbactam, which is given intramuscularly and intravenously; and piperacillin-tazobactam, which is given intravenously. Commonly used cephalosporin beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations include ceftazidime-avibactam, which is given intravenously; and ceftolozane-tazobactam, which is given orally.