A patient who is receiving intravenous ciprofloxacin for pneumonia develops diarrhea. A stool culture is positive for Clostridium difficile. The nurse will expect the provider to:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

C. difficile is resistant to fluoroquinolones; metronidazole is the drug of choice to treat this infection. Metronidazole is lethal only to anaerobic organisms, so the ciprofloxacin should be continued to treat the pneumonia. Increasing the dose of ciprofloxacin is not indicated, because C. difficile is resistant to ciprofloxacin. Gemifloxacin is approved for use in respiratory infections.

A Patient Who Is Receiving Intravenous Ciprofloxacin for Pneumonia Develops