Penicillin: In a Nutshell (Nursing)

00:01 So, in a nutshell, let's wrap up the Beta-lactam antibiotics.

00:07 Beta-lactam antibiotics have a beta-lactam ring.

00:10 That's why we call it that because the beta- lactam ring in their chemical structure is included in penicillin, cephalosporins, monobactams, and carbapenems; those 4 groups of antibiotics.

00:23 Penicillin's been around a long time.

00:25 It's not as long as sulfonamides, but it has been around since the 1940s.

00:30 Now, beta-lactamases are the energy, the arch enemy of penicillins, and can inactivate that drug.

00:38 So, when a beta-lactamase inactivates the penicillin, we won't be able to treat the infection.

00:44 That's why we use those winning combinations we talked about.

00:48 Combining penicillin with clavulanic acid, tazobactam, or sulbactam allows the penicillin to overcome the beta-lactamases.

00:55 Now, that's way cooler than you're probably recognizing at this point in your study, but that was a very, very cool discovery.

01:03 Now, how does that penicillin work? Remember the P, it penetrates the cell wall and it weakens the cell wall, which causes cell lysis and death.

01:13 Penicillin only hits the gram- positive infections.

01:16 Remember, it is resistant to gram-negative infections and the most common side effect to penicillins is GI distress.

01:23 But remember, the most serious possible adverse effect is full blown anaphylaxis, which puts your patient at risk for severe respiratory distress.

01:35 That wraps up our talk of Beta-lactam Antibiotics.

01:38 Thank you for watching this video.