Medication Summary

The goals or pharmacotherapy are to eradicate infection, to reduce morbidity, and to prevent complications.

Class Summary

Empiric antimicrobial therapy must be comprehensive and should cover all likely pathogens in the context of the clinical setting.

Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)

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Fluoroquinolone with good activity against Salmonella and most aerobic gram-negative organisms, although resistance is gradually increasing. Poor activity against anaerobes and most gram-positive organisms. Inhibits bacterial DNA topoisomerases.

Azithromycin (Zithromax)

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A macrolide antibiotic with enhanced gram-negative activity and a long half-life

Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)

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Arrests bacterial growth by binding to one or more penicillin-binding proteins. A third-generation cephalosporin with broad-spectrum activity, although not a preferred anti-staphylococcal agent. Its gram-negative activity is limited against many multiresistant nosocomial organisms.

Trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim DS, Septra)

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Inhibits bacterial growth by inhibiting synthesis of dihydrofolic acid. Antimicrobial activity of TMP-SMZ is broad and includes MRSA, most common UTI and diarrheal pathogens, toxoplasmosis, Isospora species, and Nocardia species, among many others.

Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin)

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Binds to 50S bacterial-ribosomal subunits and inhibits bacterial growth by inhibiting protein synthesis. Effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. PO formulation unavailable in the United States.

Follow-up

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Media Gallery

Rose spots on abdomen of a patient with typhoid fever due to the bacterium Salmonella typhi. Courtesy of CDC/Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Charles N. Farmer.

of 1

Author

Alena Klochko, MD Infectious Disease Physician, Orlando Health, Florida

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Received salary from Medscape for employment. for: Medscape.

John L Brusch, MD, FACP Corresponding Faculty Member, Harvard Medical School

John L Brusch, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Michael Stuart Bronze, MD David Ross Boyd Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine, Stewart G Wolf Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center; Master of the American College of Physicians; Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America; Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London

Michael Stuart Bronze, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Association of Professors of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Oklahoma State Medical Association, Southern Society for Clinical Investigation

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Mark R Wallace, MD, FACP, FIDSA Infectious Disease Physician, Skagit Valley Hospital, Skagit Regional Health

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mary D Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Mary D Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, Association of Professors of Medicine, Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Society of General Internal Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

The authors and editors of Medscape Reference gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous author Michael Zapor, MD, PhD, and previous coauthor David P Dooley, MD, to the development and writing of this article.

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Salmonella Infection (Salmonellosis) Medication

Medication Summary

Antibiotics