The text below reviews some common bacterial infections and their treatment. The recommendations made here are based on the results of susceptibility studies, clinical trials and the opinions of Medical Letter consultants.

Information about empirical treatment of bacterial infections, emerging trends in antimicrobial resistance, new drugs and new data about older drugs continue to become available. Usual pathogens and empiric treatment for some common types of infections are summarized in the text and a table listing the drugs of choice and alternatives for each pathogen begins on page 40. The recommendations made here are based on the results of susceptibility studies, clinical trials and the opinions of Medical Letter consultants.

Our article on Antiviral Drugs for Prophylaxis and Treatment of Influenza (Med Lett Drugs Ther 2005;47:93) mentioned possible use of amantadine (Symmetrel, and others) and rimantadine (Flumadine, and others), but warned that the incidence of resistance has increased substantially. The CDC recently issued a Health Alert (www.cdc.gov) saying that current evidence indicates that a high proportion of circulating influenza A viruses in the US are now resistant to amantadine and rimantadine and they should not be used for this indication, at least this year. Click here to go to this update article.

Antiviral prophylaxis is indicated for influenza exposures that occur before (or less than 2 weeks after) vaccination with inactivated vaccine, or in years when circulating strains differ from those included in the vaccine. Antiviral drugs can also be used for treatment of patients who develop symptoms of influenza, regardless of vaccination status.
Please see Update: Influenza Resistance to Amantadine and Rimantadine

New drugs for bacterial infections and new information about older drugs continue to become available. Empirical treatment of some common bacterial infections is discussed in this article. A table listing the drugs of choice and alternatives for each pathogen begins on page 18. These recommendations are based on results of susceptibility studies, clinical trials and the opinions of Medical Letter consultants. Local resistance patterns should be taken into account. Trade names are listed on page 24.