ABSTRACT
Antibiotics are frequently used as an adjunct to the surgical therapy of infections. All antibiotics are potentially harmful, and various benefit-to-risk factors must be considered whenever they are used. Intravenous administration of antibiotics may cause thrombophlebitis. Intramuscular injection of antibiotics may result in direct mechanical trauma to major nerves. Anaphylaxis is the most severe reaction to antibiotics. It is most frequently encountered after parenteral injection of penicillin or one of its synthetic analogs. Cutaneous eruptions, the most common manifestation of hypersensitivity to antibiotics, are due to delayed hypersensitivity mediated by the cellular immune system. Qualitative antibiotic susceptibility profile and the quantitative minimum inhibitory concentration of clinically indicated antibiotics can guide the selection of the appropriate antibiotic. Treatment with antibacterial agents alters the normal flora of the colon and may permit overgrowth of Clostridium spp. The beta-lactam antibiotics can all cause the general adverse events.
