benzylpenicillin + erythromycin

[ykw]

is it appropriate to combine penicillin and erythromycin? since erythromycin is used as an alternative for those allergic to penicillin, is there a need to combine this 2 if the purpose is to cover strep as well as atypical organisms? or erythromycin alone should be enough? the doctors would claim that erythromycin's coverage for strep is not as superior as penicillin when asked.

another question is that is it common in your settings that organisms are sensitive to meropenem but resistant to imipenem?

[bobbin]

is it appropriate to combine penicillin and erythromycin? since erythromycin is used as an alternative for those allergic to penicillin, is there a need to combine this 2 if the purpose is to cover strep as well as atypical organisms? or erythromycin alone should be enough? the doctors would claim that erythromycin's coverage for strep is not as superior as penicillin when asked.

another question is that is it common in your settings that organisms are sensitive to meropenem but resistant to imipenem?

Hi there,

Are you referring to the treatment of pneumonia? Also, are you in the UK as sensitivity varies a lot from country to country?

[ykw]

err, not specifically referring to any infection. i m not practising in the UK.

[bleepholder]

i've seen penicillins and macrolides combined together in the treatment of pneumonias. purely because the macrolides cover the atypical pathogens. but as stated above antibiotic prescribing patterns vary greatly around the country and possibly around other countries due to antibiotic resistance.

as for other infections, not that usual to combine penicillins and macroldies, from what i have seen anyway. If you are in hospital, may be worth speaking to your microbiology team??

[johnep]

In most hospitals, the microbiologist decides antibiotic policy, usually in conjunction with a pharmacist and anti infection nurse. If you decide to use two antibiotics against this policy, then prepare for a bad appraisal.
johnep