A hospital patient is receiving amikacin for her Enterobacter infection,which seems to be resistant to all other antibiotics.Her physician is somewhat unfamiliar with the antibiotic and wants to know what laboratory analyses can be performed to assess this antibiotic's efficacy and risk of toxicity.You suggest:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best course of action is to assess both peak and trough amikacin concentrations. This is important because amikacin has a narrow therapeutic index, meaning that the therapeutic window between efficacy and toxicity is small. By measuring the peak and trough concentrations, the physician can adjust the dosing regimen to ensure that the drug is effective without being toxic. Hearing assessment by a speech pathologist is also important because amikacin can cause ototoxicity, but it is not the best choice as the first step. Option A, immunoassay for amikacin at the peak blood concentration, is not accurate enough for assessing the drug's efficacy and toxicity. Option D, stating that amikacin shouldn't be used in this case, is not true since it is known to be active against Enterobacter infections.

A Hospital Patient Is Receiving Amikacin for Her Enterobacter Infection,which