Antibiotics: Tailoring treatment

Last updated: Tuesday, June 20, 2017

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As well as considering the organism, site and severity of the infection you need to make sure that antibiotics are safe and effective for the individual patient concerned. Guidelines are useful in helping us to choose the most appropriate antibiotic for most patients, but you need to ensure that it is right for your patient taking into account any other medicines they may take, their medical history including their renal and liver function, their age, weight and allergy status and so on.

Click on the links below to read real-life examples of patients with special considerations with respect to their antibiotic therapy. Think about how you would have managed the question and what decision you would have made.