2.4 Role of antibiotics in modern medicine
In the previous sections you learned that:
- pathogenic bacteria can cause infection in humans, animals and plants
- antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.
However, antibiotics can be used in other scenarios, beyond the treatment of infectious diseases.
Activity 10: Antibiotics in modern medicine
Based on the understanding that you have now, reflect on the role that antibiotics play in these different aspects of modern medicine:
- The use of antibiotics in cancer treatment.
Discussion
Cancer is a disease caused by cells that grow excessively, creating tumours and potentially invading other tissues. Chemotherapy is one of the principal treatments for cancer; a major-side effect is that the immune system is weakened. In Section 2.1 you learned that opportunistic bacteria can take advantage of this situation and cause an infection. Antibiotics are important to treat bacterial infections in patients with extremely weakened immune systems due to chemotherapy.
- The use of antibiotics for
surgical prophylaxis .
Discussion
Antibiotics are used before certain surgical procedures to prevent infection. For example, for orthopaedic operations where implants are put in to replace joints (such as a hip or knee), there is a possibility of micro-organisms infecting the prosthesis.
Nowadays, surgery is performed in aseptic conditions to minimise the risk of infection. Without antibiotics, surgery would still be possible; however, the risk of an infection as a result of the surgery would be bigger and more difficult to treat. Surgery was performed before the discovery of antibiotics, but mortality rates were very high.
2.3 What antibiotics do
