Emguidewire's Podcast

Join the EMGuideWire crew once again for this month's series on Sepsis in honor of Sepsis Awareness month. Episode 3 will cover antibiotic use and selection. Antibiotics for Sepsis Take a history and perform a chart biopsy first! Consider past infections, bug susceptibilities, healthcare acquired vs. community acquired infection, foreign travel, and comorbidities.  Always check local antibiogram and prior culture results. Septic shock - Start broad spectrum antibiotics within 1 hour. Stable patient - find the source! UA, CXR, and a good skin exam are fast and can help guide antibiotic choice. Remember some patients need surgical management!  Antibiotic choice in septic shock. 1st agent - Piperacillin/Tazobactam (covers GP/GN + Pseudo)  2nd agent - Choose based on patient characteristics Ceftriaxone - simple community acquired infections. Vancomycin - covers MRSA. Meropenem - use for patients with a hx of ESBL. Flagyl + cefepime/meropenem - Use for intra-abdominal infections. Clindamycin - Useful for skin