antibioticsbooks

68 PART 2 Antibacterial Drugs
good empiric choice for mixed infections, such as
intra-abdominal infections, diabetic ulcers, and
aspiration pneumonia. Amoxicillin/clavulanate is
used for upper respiratory tract infections when
beta-lactamase producing organisms are found or
suspected.
Don’t Forget!
Narrow your coverage once culture results return.
These are good choices of empiric therapy, but
poor choices of definitive therapy if alternatives
are available. Be sure you know which drugs are
antipseudomonal and which are not—this is a major
difference among these agents that drives their
use. For example, ampicillin/sulbactam is a poor
choice for nosocomial pneumonia, and piperacillin/
tazobactam is overkill for community-acquired
pneumonia.