A 5 year-old girl is brought to the office by her mother due to a right ear discharge for 2 days. The mother also reports that she has a fever and she doesn't eat well over the past 2 days. Her past medical history is significant for three episodes of otitis media over the last year. You prescribe amoxicillin with clavulanic acid. The mother is concerned regarding adding clavulanic acid. Adding clavulanic acid to this treatment regimen would serve which of the following purposes?

Question

A 5 year-old girl is brought to the office by her mother due to a right ear discharge for 2 days. The mother also reports that she has a fever and she doesn't eat well over the past 2 days. Her past medical history is significant for three episodes of otitis media over the last year.  You prescribe amoxicillin with clavulanic acid. The mother is concerned regarding adding clavulanic acid.  Adding clavulanic acid to this treatment regimen would serve which of the following purposes?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Clavulanic acid, sulbactam and tazobactam are beta-lactamase inhibitors.  Concurrent administration of clavulanate with amoxicillin expands amoxicillin's spectrum of activity to include strains of B-lactamase synthesizing bacteria that are resistant to amoxicillin alone.

A 5 Year-Old Girl Is Brought to the Office by Her